• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.590-601
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• 1996

This study aims at developing the double cantilever beam (DCB) method in order to calculate the bridging stress distribution in polycrystalline aluminas with different grain sizes. In the already existing DCB methods the measured crack opening displacement (COD) in coarse-grained aluminas deviates generally from the calcula-ted one because of the grain-interface bridging in the crack wake. In the current DBC method developed in the present study the effect of the bridging stress was considered in the DCB analysis. whereas the only effect of applied point-loading at the end of DCB specimen was taken into account in the existing DCB analysis The crack closure due to bridging stress was calculated using the power-law relation and the theoretical model developed in Part I of the present paper as bridging stress function and then compared analytically. The limitations of the current DCB methods such as specimen dimensions applied loads and elastic modulus were discussed in detail to provide a reliability of the newly developed DCB analysis for the bridging stress distribu-tion in polycrystalline aluminas.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.602-615
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• 1996

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the microstructural effect on the R-curve behavior in three aluminas with different grain size distributions by analyzing the bridging stress distribution. The crack opening displacement (COD) according to the distance behind the stationary crack tip was measured using an in situ SEM fracture method. The measured COD values in the fine-grained alumina agreed well with Wiederhorn's sollution while they deviated from Wiederhorn's solution in the two coarse-grained aluminas because of the increase of the crack closure due to the grain interface bridging in the crack wake. A numerical fitting procedure was conducted by the introduction of the power-law relation and the current theoretical model together with the measured COD's in order to obtain the bridging stress distribution. The results indicated that the bridging stress function and the R-curve computed by the current model were consistent with those computed by the power-law relation providing a reliable evidence for the bridging stress analysis of the current model. The strain-softening exponent in the power-law relation n, was calculated to be in the range from 2 to 3 and was closely related to the grain size distribution. Thus it was concluded from the current theoretical model that the grain size distribution affected greatly the bridging stress distribution thereby resulting in the quantitative analysis of microfracture of polycrystalline aluminas through correlating the local-fracture-cont-rolling microstructure.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.50-58
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• 2009

In this study, alumina matrix composites reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were fabricated by ultrasonic dispersion, ball milling, mixing, compaction, and sintering processes, and their relative density, electrical resistance, hardness, flexure strength, and fracture toughness were evaluated. 0~3 vol.% of CNTs were relatively homogeneously dispersed in the composites in spite of the existence of some pores. The three-point bending test results indicated that the flexure strength increased with increasing volume fraction of CNTs, and reached the maximum when the CNT fraction was 1.5 vol.%. The fracture toughness increased as the CNT fraction increased, and the fracture toughness of the composite containing 3 vol.% of CNTs was higher by 40% than that of the monolithic alumina. According to observation of the crack propagation path after the indentation fracture test, a new toughening mechanism of grain interface bridging-induced CNT bridging was suggested to explain the improvement of fracture toughness in the alumina matrix composites reinforced with CNTs.