Analysis of Crack Propagation Behavior in Alumina with Different Grain Sizes under Static and Cyclic Fatigue

Crack propagation in high purity alumina ceramics with different grain sizes was investigated with the Double Torsion method during static and cyclic fatigue. A compliance function, based on the variation of compliance with bridging stresses, is applied here to quantify the amount of crack bridging. It is shown experimentally that the reinforcement due to crack bridging is proportional to the compliance function. Under cyclic fatigue, a reduction of crack bridging is observed, followed by a decrease of the compliance function. During crack propagation under cyclic loading, the compliance is affected by the frictional degradation of bridges (due to repeated unloading and loading). At low loads, the crack growth rate is initially equal to zero, but crack bridging decreases monotonically with the number of cycles. After an 'incubation' period, crack propagation initiates and new bridges are formed. This leads further to an equilibrium between crack shielding degradation and crack shielding accumulation.