MCEN90014 Laboratory - Ceramics

MCEN90014 Materials

LABORATORY - Ceramics

LABORATORY CLASSES ARE COMPULSORY!

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT SAFE WORKING PROCEDURES ARE OBSERVED AT ALL TIMES.

Further details are provided in the operating instructions for individual experiments.

NO EQUIPMENT IN THE LABORATORY IS TO BE USED BEFORE RECEIVING

PERMISSION AND INSTRUCTION FROM STAFF OR DEMONSTRATORS.

SMOKING, FOOD AND DRINK, BARE FEET AND OPEN SANDALS ARE NOT PERMITTED
WITHIN THE LABORATORY. APPROPRIATE DRESS AND FOOTWEAR SHOULD BE
WORN.

Although the testing is performed in small groups, students will submit individual reports. A4
format is recommended for these reports. Each report should clearly show the student's name,
the number and title of the lab, the date performed and the name of the demonstrator (who will
mark the report).

Completed laboratory reports should be submitted within one week of the laboratory session but
you should confirm the exact submission time with your demonstrator. Reports should be
submitted online via LMS.

This manual covers the lab Bending Tests of Ceramics and is available on LMS for
downloading. You are expected to read these notes before your laboratory session so that you
are ready to begin the experiment when you go into the laboratory. You may print and bring a
copy with you coming to the lab.

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MCEN90014 Laboratory - Ceramics

Bending Tests of Ceramics

Ceramic materials suffer from brittle fracture when stressed owing to their high resistance to
plastic deformation (i.e. high yield strength) and low resistance to crack propagation (i.e. low
fracture toughness). Therefore, the fracture strength (σfs) of ceramics is dictated by the largest
crack present in the material and can be calculated using

KC
σ fs =
a

where Kc is the fracture toughness and a the largest crack size.

As there is usually a considerable variation in the size of the largest crack in different ceramic
samples, testing of them would result in a scattering of their fracture strengths. In design with
ceramics, a statistical approach is often taken instead of a deterministic one adopted for metals.
It is observed that the strength in ceramics obey the so-called Weibull distribution, and the
probability of survival (Ps), or alternatively of failure (Pf), of a certain volume (Vo) of ceramic
material is related to the applied stress σ by

*, $ ' m .,
σ
PS (Vo ) = exp+−& ) / (1)
,- % σ o ( ,0
or

*, $ ' m .,
€ σ
P f (Vo ) = 1− exp+−& ) / (2)
,- % σ o ( ,0

where m and σo are constants. m is called the Weibull modulus, and the higher its value, the
narrower the strength distribution (thus more desirable). It is therefore a very important materials
property for ceramics. €

In this laboratory, you are required to perform bending tests on a number of alumina (aluminium
oxide Al2O3) specimens to determine the values of m and σo.

Experimental Material

Each group will receive 6 alumina bars of square cross-section. You should measure the
dimensions of individual specimens and record them.

3-Point Bending Tests

Following the instruction given by your demonstrator, you should measure the span of the two
supporting points and record it, place a specimen on the bending fixture, and start the test by
driving down the upper point to bend the specimen until fracture. The process is controlled and
the load (F) and displacement (δ) recorded by the computer system.

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 MCEN90014 Laboratory - Ceramics

Data Processing

You should collect the recorded F vs δ curves for the six tests conducted, and convert them into
stress (maximum) vs strain (maximum) curves using the appropriate formulas for 3-point
bending. You should then obtain the fracture strength for each and list the values in a table to be
shared with the other 4 groups completing this lab on the same day.

Analysis Leading to the Values of m and σ o

Referring to relevant lecture notes, perform the following:

• Collecting all fracture strengths obtained by other groups on the same day (you should have
a total of 30 values including your own).
• Rank these strength values from the lowest to the highest so that each has a ranking number
n.
n
• Calculate the failure probability Pf = where N is the total number of tests collected
N +1
(should be 30).
• From equation (2), derive the following equation

€ # 1 &
lnln%% (( = m ln σ − m ln σ o (3)
$ 1− Pf '

# 1 &
• Plot lnln%% (( vs ln σ , and fit the data points with a straight line.
$ 1− Pf ' €
• The slop of the straight line is m.
# 1 &
• Work out σ€
o (= σ at lnln%
% (( = 0 ) from the diagram.
€ $ 1− Pf '

Discussion

You are required

€ to make observations of your experiments and findings and to comment on any
normal or unusual ones based on your study of ceramics. In particular, you should discuss the
following:
- why using bending tests for ceramics;
- the shape of the stress vs strain curve, and features;
- the scattering of the strength values;
- the value of m obtained, in comparison to other ceramic materials found in references; and
- general comments on mechanical behaviour of ceramics.

Reporting

Your report should be professionally written with introduction, objectives, experimental materials
and procedures, results and analysis, discussion and conclusions, as well as a list of references,
if used, following a certain style (each reference should be cited in text). Preferably, the report
should be generated by computer.

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MCEN90014 Laboratory - Ceramics

Marking scheme (guide only)

Aim - 5%
Method - 5%
Results - 45%
Discussion (questions) - 40%
Conclusions - 5%

Late submission: –20%