Fracture toughness and strength of 96% alumina

There exists a need to understand the controlling factors that simultaneously impact strength and toughness in 96% alumina. The enhancement of both strength and toughness enables designers to extend the use limits and reliability for structural ceramics. This article presents mechanical property results from a group study examining the use of different alkaline-earth aluminosilicate intergranular compositions containing magnesium, calcium and strontium oxides (RO) in 96% alumina. Principal results address trends in indentation strength toughness and modulus of rupture. Trends in the data are presented relative to existing theories of thermal expansion mismatch toughening, grain-bridging crack-wake effect and crack deflection mechanisms. Strength is addressed in terms of strength after indentation, crack growth of indentation flaws and Weibull characterization for the strength distribution.