Estimation of Standard-Size Strength in Silicon Carbide Ceramics Using Miniature Specimens

The effect of specimen size on the flexural strength of silicon carbide ceramics was studied using miniaturesize specimens. Fracture surface of these specimens was observed by SEM to determine the fracture origin. The strength of the miniature specimens increased with decreasing the specimen size, most of the fracture origins of the miniature specimens being located on the specimen tensile surface. The strength of a standard-size silicon carbide specimen could be estimated from the strength of the miniature specimens by invoking Weibull-size scaling with the effective surface area.