Investigation of Plasma-Sprayed Ceramic Fragmentation Statistics in a Wide Range of Strain Rates

Experiments on samples (cylindrical and cubic ones) of the ceramic material based on plasma-sprayed aluminum oxide have been carried out under different loading conditions. The aim of the work is to determine the stage of material fracture on the basis of deformation diagrams, fragmentation statistical analysis, acoustic emission data, and study of the material surface by the optical methods. In each series of experiments, the condition of fragment preservation was fulfilled, and the total mass was 95–99% of the specimen mass. The fragment size (mass) distribution statistics was investigated.