Fracture Toughness of Composite Materials

The main conception of materials fracture in homogeneous, isotropic and composite materials is discussed. Important relations related to the linear elastic fracture mechanics are presented based on the Griffith-Irwin approach. Overview of composite failure modes and some facts about the fracture toughness was discussed next. Some testing methods for fracture toughness of composites are then compared, studied and analyzed. The composites materials which used in this test are ceramic composites such as Duceram, Duceram LFC, Sintagon Zx and Carrara Vincent. Three fracture toughness testing methods were involved in this experiment are the indentation strength method (IS), the single edge notched beam (SENB) and the Chevron notched beam method (CN). Finally, A revision of a new method for testing the fracture toughness was proposed. A Conclusion and recommendations for future work on fracture of structural composites was done.