Fracture toughness of the interface between Ni-Cr/ceramic, alumina/ceramic and zirconia/ceramic systems

Few studies have focused on the interface fracture performance of bi‐layered structures, which have an important role in dental restorations, using ceramic materials. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the fracture mechanics performance of the Ni–Cr/ceramic, alumina/ceramic and zirconia/ceramic interfaces by investigating the propagation of an interfacial crack under a wide range of mode mixities. The effect of the mechanical properties of the base materials and the interface, on the crack initiation and crack path, will also be studied. The finite element method (FEM) was used to calibrate the production of the experimental specimens, allowing to obtain the minimum dimensions and amounts of material needed to correctly characterize the fracture event. The specimens were tested until failure using a three‐point bending test machine. The interface fracture parameters were obtained using the FEM. For all specimens, the cracks propagated into the ceramic. The results suggest that, in Ni–Cr/ceramic, alumina/ceramic and zirconia/ceramic bi‐layered structures, the ceramic is weaker than the interface, which can be used to explain the clinical phenomenon that the ceramic chipping rate is larger than interface delamination rate. Consequently, a ceramic material with a larger fracture toughness is needed to decrease the failure rate of ceramic restorations.