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Quantitative Characterization of Indentation Crack Path in a Cubic Zirconia—10 vol% Alumina Composite
Author(s) -
Bhargava Parag,
Patterson Burton R.
Publication year - 1997
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.1151-2916.1997.tb03061.x
Subject(s) - indentation , materials science , composite material , cubic zirconia , fracture mechanics , composite number , crack closure , vickers hardness test , ceramic , microstructure
Stereological measurements were performed to characterize the indentation crack path in a cubic zirconia—10 vol% alumina ( c ‐ZrO 2 ‐10 vol% Al 2 O 3 ) composite. Cracks were generated using Vickers indentation, and the crack propagation behavior was characterized as a function of the indentation loading/unloading rates. Cracks that were produced by Vickers indentation formed at higher crack velocities as the loading/unloading rates increased. The amount of contact between the crack and the Al 2 O 3 particles increased as the indentation rate decreased. The total number of crack—particle interactions per unit crack length also increased as the indentation rate decreased, because of an increase in the number of particles that were fractured per unit crack length, whereas the number of particles that were debonded remained relatively constant as the indentation rate changed. These results suggest that residual thermal mismatch stresses have predominant control of the crack path at lower crack velocities (low indentation loading/unloading rate), whereas elastic mismatch stresses predominate at higher crack velocities (high indentation loading/unloading rate).