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Perspective on the Development of High‐Toughness Ceramics
Author(s) -
Evans Anthony G.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1990.tb06493.x
Subject(s) - citation , library science , management , art history , history , computer science , economics
The science governing the strength and fracture of structural ceramics has developed from a mostly empirical topic in 1965 into a mature discipline that now sets the standards in the field of mechanical behavior. The intent of this review is to provide a perspective regarding this evolution, followed by succinct descriptions of current understanding. The rapid developments in the field are considered to have commenced upon the first concerted attempt to apply fracture mechanics concepts to ceramics, beginning in the middle 1960s. This allowed a distinction between the separate contributions to strength from the flaws in the material and from the microstructure, as manifest in the fracture toughness. Another contribution that accelerated the learning process was the development of indentation techniques, which allowed trends in the damage resistance of new ceramics to be assessed on a routine basis. However, the most important development, which originated at about the same time, was the discovery of toughened zirconia alloys. The ensuing research on these alloys established two vital precedents.