R-curve behavior of whisker-reinforced ceramic composites
Ceramics have attracted great interest for advanced heat engines and industrial applications as a result of their stiffness, light weight, corrosion resistance, and superior performance at high temperatures. However, their utilization in engineering applications is severely limited by their brittleness. One approach toward substantially reducing this brittleness is by incorporating strong whiskers into the ceramic matrix. Studies of whisker-reinforced ceramic composites have shown both rising fracture resistance with crack extension (i.e. R-curve behavior) and a three- to four-fold increase in steady-state toughness. The primary toughening mechanism is bridging of the crack surface by whiskers. This paper discusses the bridging mechanism in detail and presents R-curves for SiC whisker-reinforced Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} composites.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 74031
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9508127--1; ON: DE95012873
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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