Tweaking 3D-printed mechanical metamaterial geometry creates disorder, more than doubles cracking resistance, by distributing stress

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1073713

"mimics bones, seashell iridescent material, mussels' threads attaching to surfaces... low cost, not changing material... 2.6X tougher... highest performance level where material looked somewhat regular but not exactly symmetrical (no (repeating structure)... extremely precise laser used to cut the disordered patterns... disorder prevents cracks traveling straight... tested using triangles, but applies to many different geometries.... future: combining different material types, adding different geometries at different scales... aerospace"