Deformation and Fracture of Porous Brittle Materials Under Different Loading Schemes

Resumo

The behavior of alumina and zirconia compression- and shear-test specimens with porosity ranging from 10 to 70% is investigated. Analysis of the stress-strain curves for the materials under study has revealed a transition from a characteristically brittle fracture of fairly dense Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ specimens to pseudo-plastic fracture for a high porosity level. The ultimate compression strength, effective elastic and shear moduli, and Poisson’s ratio are found to decrease with increase in the pore space volume of the ceramic specimens, which is shown to correlate with development of strain-induced multiple cracking of the materials.