Interlocked materials are new examples of “hybrid materials”, mixing materials and
structures at a millimetric scale. They consist of periodic assemblies of elementary blocks with
specific shapes, maintained in contact by compressive boundary conditions. These “pre-fragmented
materials” can simultaneously fulfil antagonistic properties such as high strength together with good
damage tolerance.
We performed indentation tests on two different structures: (i) an assembly of osteomorphic ice
blocks and (ii) an assembly of plaster made cubes. The tests being performed up to the failure, it is
found that these structures dissipate much more mechanical energy than similar monolithic plates
and preserve their integrity up to much larger deformation. A numerical modelling is then
developed in order to reproduce this behaviour. Using finite elements, we simulated the friction
contact between two elastic cubes or blocks, for a given lateral load and friction coefficient. The
outputs are then introduced as local contact rules in a “Discrete Elements code” specially developed
for this study. The discrete code is then used to model the elastic and damage behaviour of
assemblies of cubes or osteomorphic blocks. The comparison with experimental results is
satisfactory. Finally, the code is used to model larger assemblies of interlocked structures for which
the force path is analysed.
Functional data approximation on bounded domains using polygonal finite elements
