Conductive polymer composite (CPC) foam exhibits excellent characteristics such as high plasticity, energy absorption, as well as thermal and acoustic insulation, and holds enormous potential for applications in various fields including construction, transportation, electronics, etc. However, the porous structure of CPC foam is usually simple and random, which limits its further application. The complexity of CPC processing makes it challenging to achieve a controlled design of micro-porous structures. Inspired by the idea that biomaterials can enhance their mechanical properties by virtue of their well-aligned anisotropic microstructures, highly aligned anisotropic porous biomimetic microstructures are constructed by a bidirectional freeze-casting process to enhance the compressive mechanical properties of CPC foam. Compared to traditional unidirectional freezing, the compressive elastic modulus and peak stress of aligned anisotropic porous microstructured CPC foam increase by 18.7% and 25.4%, respectively. Buckling and collapsing risks during cyclic compression are significantly reduced, and a peak stress of 91.1% and a strain recovery of 89.6% are still maintained after 2,000 cycles at 50% strain. A finite element model of the porous structure in CPC foam is built with parameters including elastic modulus, hole wall thickness, and Poisson's ratio, obtained from measured data or literature. The quasi-static compressive behaviors of biomimetic and disordered structures are investigated using the finite element method, and the deformation and stress distribution are compared with the corresponding experimental results. Through finite element simulations and experimental tests, it is found that the main mechanisms enhancing the compressive mechanical properties of the materials are as follows: stress distribution optimization effectively prevents plastic deformation caused by local stress concentration; the highly elastic behavior of micrometer pore wall and its 3D structure enhance the bionic structure's resilience; and the highly aligned anisotropic channels provide ample deformation space, improve deformation coordination, and enhance the structure's reversibility during loading and unloading.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |