Fracture Toughness of Ceramics

  

Vinod Kumar
Published : May 31, 2023

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FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF CERAMICS

Ceramic materials cannot be guaranteed to be completely defect-free when the green body is densified or the net shape is machined. To establish a material’s capacity to resist fracture, it is crucial to understand its linear elastic fracture mechanics.

Ceramic materials’ fracture toughness is assessed by calculating the energy needed for a flaw with known dimensions to spread into a crack. To measure what is known as the stress intensity factor, knowledge of the material’s Young’s modulus and the length of the defect is necessary. After obtaining these qualities, it is possible to determine the fracture toughness of ceramic materials as force per unit of surface area (MPa m12).

As previously said, it is hard to guarantee that faults have been completely eradicated from goods in practically any technical application, hence fracture toughness is important. Pressureless sintering, which includes densifying ceramic powders in a nitrogen environment at temperatures more than 1700°C (3092°F), is used to create sialon ceramic materials. Advanced ceramics are frequently very sensitive to sintering parameters, making it difficult to maintain these conditions, which can lead to defective final products if the sintering conditions are not carefully controlled.

Video 01: Lecture – Fracture Toughness

Conclusion:

The measurement of fracture toughness is an essential method for evaluating the mechanical properties of ceramics used in various industries, including aerospace, automotive, and medical applications. The test involves subjecting a ceramic sample to a controlled amount of stress and observing the behavior of the material as it fractures. The fracture toughness value provides important information on the material’s ability to resist cracking and failure under load, which is critical for predicting the performance of ceramics in real-world applications.

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