Skip to Main Content
American Society of Mechanical Engineers: Digital Collection
Cart
header search
Search
Advanced Search
Skip Nav Destination
Book cover for Fracture Mechanics Applied to Brittle Materials
ASTM Selected Technical Papers
Fracture Mechanics Applied to Brittle Materials
By
SW Freiman
SW Freiman
1Fracture and Deformation Division,
National Bureau of Standards
,
Washington, D.C. 20234
;
editor
.
Search for other works by this author on:
This Site
PubMed
Google Scholar
ISBN-10:
0-8031-0365-4
ISBN:
978-0-8031-0365-8
No. of Pages:
228
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1520/STP678-EB
Publisher:
ASTM International
Publication date:
1979
eBook Chapter

Determination of Fracture Mechanics Parameters Through Fractographic Analysis of Ceramics

By
JJ Mecholsky
JJ Mecholsky
1
Technical staff member
,
Sandia Laboratories
,
Albuquerque, N. Mex. 87185
. The work was performed at Naval Research Laboratory.
Search for other works by this author on:
This Site
PubMed
Google Scholar
,
SW Freiman
SW Freiman
2
Ceramic engineer
,
National Bureau of Standards
,
Washington, D. C. 20234
.
Search for other works by this author on:
This Site
PubMed
Google Scholar
Doi:
https://doi.org/10.1520/STP36632S
Page Count:
15
  • Published:
    1979

Fracture surface analysis of brittle materials can be used as a quantitative tool to determine not only the size of the fracture initiating flaw but also the stress at failure and the critical fracture toughness of the material. The techniques for standardizing these fracture surface measurements and the influence of factors such as microstructure, internal stress, and loading rate are described. The sizes and geometries of fracture initiating flaws are correlated with the KIc of the material local to the flaw periphery and these are compared to the KIc obtained from fracture surface analysis. Failure under combined KI and KII loading is shown to become more amenable to analysis through the use of fractography. Static fatigue failures can be analyzed through the fracture surface features they generate. Not only the stress causing failure but also the time under stress can be determined quantitatively through measurement of flaw and “fracture mirror” sizes.

Keywords:
fracture (materials), fractography, ceramics, fracture mechanics, brittle materials, mechanical properties

References

1.
Randall
,
P. N.
 in
Plain Strain Crack Toughness Testing of High Strength Metallic Materials, ASTM STP 410
,
American Society for Testing and Materials
,
1967
, pp. 88–126.
2.
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
Rice
,
R. W.
, and
Freiman
,
S. W.
,
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7820, Vol.
57
,
1974
, pp. 440–443.
3.
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
Freiman
,
S. W.
, and
Rice
,
R. W.
,
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7820, Vol.
60
, No.
3–4
,
1977
, pp. 114–117.
4.
Wiederhorn
,
S. M.
 in
Ceramics for High Performance Applications
,
Burke
 
J. J.
,
Gorum
 
A. E.
, and
Katz
 
R. N.
, Eds.,
Brook Hill
,
Chestnut Hill, Ma.
,
1974
, pp. 651–652.
5.
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
Freiman
,
S. W.
, and
Rice
,
R. W.
,
Journal of Materials Science
 0022-2461, Vol.
11
,
1976
, pp. 1310–1319.
6.
Rice
,
R. W.
 in
Proceedings
, Symposium on Fracture Mechanics of Ceramics, Vol.
2
,
Pennsylvania State University
,
Plenum Press, New York
,
1973
, pp. 323–345.
7.
Rice
,
R. W.
, “
The Science of Ceramic Machining and Surface Finishing
,” NBS Special Publication 348,
Schneider
,
S. J.
 Jr., and
Rice
 
R. W.
, Eds.,
National Bureau of Standards
,
Washington, D. C.
,
1972
, pp. 365–375.
8.
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
Freiman
,
S. W.
, and
Rice
,
R. W.
 in
Proceedings
, 11th International Congress on Glass,
Prague, Czechoslovakia
,
07
1977
, pp. 489–497.
9.
Kirchner
,
H. P.
 and
Graver
,
R. M.
 in
Proceedings
, Symposium on Fracture Mechanics of Ceramics, Vol.
3
,
Pennsylvania State University, Plenum Press, N. Y.
,
1978
, pp. 365–378.
10.
Lawn
,
B. R.
 and
Wilshaw
,
T. R.
,
Journal of Materials Science
 0022-2461, Vol.
10
,
1975
, pp. 1049–1081.
11.
Freiman
,
S. W.
,
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
McDonough
,
W. J.
, and
Rice
,
R. W.
 in
Ceramics for High Performance Applications-II; Proceedings
5th Army Materials Technology Conference,
Newport, R. I.
,
1977
.
12.
Freiman
,
S. W.
,
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
Rice
,
R. W.
, and
Wurst
,
J. C.
,
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7820, Vol.
58
,
1975
, p. 406.
13.
Rhodes
,
W. J.
 and
Cannon
,
R. M.
,
Bulletin of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7812, Vol.
53
, No.
4
,
1974
, p. 318.
14.
Freiman
,
S. W.
,
Rice
,
R. W.
,
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
, and
Pohanka
,
R. C.
 in
Proceedings
, 14th Annual Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science, Inc.,
Lehigh University Publication
,
Bethlehem, Pa.
1977
, pp. 357–368.
15.
Rice
,
R. W.
,
Freiman
,
S. W.
,
Pohanka
,
R. C.
,
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
, and
Wu
,
C. Cm.
, in
Proceedings
, Symposium on Fracture Mechanics of Ceramics, Pennsylvania State University,
Plenum Press
,
New York
,
1978
, pp. 849–876.
16.
Pohanka
,
R. C.
,
Freiman
,
S. W.
, and
Bender
,
B. A.
,
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7820, Vol.
61
,
1978
, pp. 72–75.
17.
Freiman
,
S. W.
,
Williams
,
A.
,
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
, and
Rice
,
R. W.
,
Ceramic Microstructures '76
,
Fulrath
 
R. M.
 and
Pask
 
J. A.
, Eds.,
Westview Press, Inc.
,
Boulder, Colo.
,
1977
, pp. 824–834.
18.
Rice
,
R.
,
Surfaces and Interfaces of Glass and Ceramics
,
Plenum Press
,
New York
,
1972
, pp. 439–472.
19.
Rice
,
W. R.
,
Freiman
,
W. S.
,
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
, and
Ruh
,
R.
, “
Fracture Sources in Si3N4 and SiC
,”
Proceedings
, DARPA/NAVSEA-Garrett/Airesearch Ceramic Gas Turbine Engine Demonstration Program Review, Castine, Ma.
08
1977
, to be published.
20.
Rice
,
R. W.
,
Freiman
,
S. W.
,
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
Ruh
,
R.
, and
Harada
,
Y.
, “
Fractography of Si3N4 and SiC
,”
Ceramics for High Performance Applications-II; Proceedings
, 5th Army Materials Technology Conference,
Newport, R. I.
,
1977
.
21.
Petrovic
,
J. J.
 and
Mendiratta
,
M. G.
,
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7820, Vol.
59
,
1976
, pp. 163–167, and Vol.
60
,
1977
, p. 463.
22.
Freiman
,
S. W.
,
Gonzalez
,
A. C.
 and
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
, “
Mixed Mode Fracture in Soda Lime Glass
,” accepted by the
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7820.
23.
Yoffee
,
E. H.
 in
The Philosophical Magazine
, Vol.
42
,
1951
, p. 739.
24.
Dynamic Crack Propagation
,
Sih
,
G.C,
 Ed.,
Nordoff International Publishing
,
Heyden, The Netherlands
,
1973
.
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
 
25.
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
Freiman
,
S. W.
 and
Rice
,
R. W.
 in
Fractography in Failure Analysis, ASTM STP 645
,
American Society for Testing and Materials
,
1978
, pp. 363–379.
26.
Shand
,
E. G.
, “
Breaking Stresses of Glass Determined from Fracture Surfaces
,”
The Glass Industry
,
04
1967
.
27.
Abdel-Latif
,
A. I. A.
,
Tressler
,
R. E.
, and
Bradt
,
R. C.
,
International Journal of Fracture Mechanics
 0020-7268, Vol.
13
,
1977
, pp. 349–359.
28.
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
, and
Freiman
,
S. W.
 in
Proceedings
, 11th International Congress on Glass,
Prague, Czechoslovakia
,
07
1977
.
29.
Wu
,
C. Cm.
,
Rice
,
R. W.
,
Freiman
,
S. W.
, and
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
Journal of Materials Science
 0022-2461, accepted for publication,
1978
.
30.
Bansal
,
G. K.
,
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7820, Vol.
59
,
1976
, pp. 87–88.
31.
Wiederhorn
,
S. M.
 in
Proceedings
, Symposium on Fracture Mechanics of Ceramics, Vol.
2
, Pennsylvania State University,
Plenum Press
,
New York
,
1973
.
32.
Mecholsky
,
J. J.
,
Gonzalez
,
A. C.
, and
Freiman
,
S. W.
, “
Fractographic Analysis of Delayed Failure in Soda Lime Glass
,” submitted to
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7820,
1978
.
33.
Kirchner
,
H. P.
 and
Gruver
,
R. M.
,
Ceramic Finishing Company
, Report No. 5,
01
1977
.
34.
Pohanka
,
R. C.
,
Smith
,
P. L.
, and
Pasternak
,
J.
, “
Report of NRL Progress
,”
U. S. Naval Research Laboratory
,
01
1975
, p. 21.
35.
Kirchner
,
H. P.
 and
Gruver
,
R. M.
,
Proceedings
, Symposium on Fracture Mechanics of Ceramics, Vol.
1
, Pennsylvania State University,
Plenum Press
,
New York
,
1973
.
36.
Bansal
,
G. K.
 and
Duckworth
,
W. H.
,
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7820, Vol.
60
,
1977
, pp. 304–310.
37.
Kerper
,
M. J.
 and
Scuderi
,
T. G.
,
Bulletin of the American Ceramic Society
 0002-7812, Vol.
44
,
1965
, pp. 953–955.
38.
Johnson
,
J. W.
 and
Holloway
,
D. G.
,
The Philosophical Magazine
, Vol.
14
,
1966
, pp. 731–743.
This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this chapter.

ASME Journals

ASME Conference Proceedings

ASME eBooks

Resources

Opportunities

  • Crossref Logo
  • Crossref Open Funder Registry Logo
  • Crossref Open Cited-By Logo
  • Crossref Crossmark Logo
  • Crossref Similarity Check Logo
  • Chorus Logo
  • Counter Logo
  • Cope Logo
  • STM Logo
Copyright © 2025 The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Close Modal
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

or Create an Account

Close Modal
Close Modal
This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.
Accept