Effects of Platelets Addition on the Microstructure and Uniaxial Compressive Response of Ice-Templated Porous Alumina

This presentation will describe the effects of grain-level anisotropy on the microstructure and compressive response of the ice-templated ceramic scaffolds. Highly porous scaffolds were fabricated from alumina powders of equiaxed morphology as well as from powder mixtures containing equiaxed and platelet particles. Presence of the platelets led to formation of the lamellar bridges and significantly enhanced the compressive strength of the scaffolds. Measured improvement of the mechanical response is rationalized based on the stiffening and strengthening effects exhibited by the platelets. Research findings are pivotal to bio-inspired design of hierarchical materials for structural, biomedical and energy storage applications