Tensile Testing of Abalone Nacre Miniature Specimens Using Microscopy and Speckle Correlation

Nacre from seashells, also known as mother-of-pearl, has attracted much attention for its remarkable mechanical properties despite the structural weaknesses of its components [1],[2]. In this article, in situ-tensile tests of dry and wet nacre dogbone specimens are presented. Optical microscopy and digital image correlation techniques were used to determine deformation and strain fields . While dry nacre exhibits brittle behavior, hydrated nacre (as in its natural environment) exhibits ductile behavior and large deformations. This study is a first step to completely characterize nacre's mechanics in relation to its microstructure and components for the perspective of novel nano-composites designs.