Ceramic Fracture Behavior with Anisotropic Inclusions
Graduate Student: Neal Brodnik

Fracture behavior in brittle materials has long been a topic of interest in research, both in the sense of understanding the mechanisms of fracture as well as altering material systems to resist it. Historically, ceramics and ceramic composites have been designed with microstructures tailored to hinder crack growth by means of phase transformation, such as in yttria/zirconia systems, as well as by means of mechanical deflection, such as in disperse particle systems. Traditionally, these microstructures have been limited in scope to systems which inhibit crack growth isotropically or are homogeneous on a bulk scale. This limitation was largely due to the available processing methods for ceramic production.

In the last three decades, many advancements have been made in ceramics processing and manufacturing methods, which allow for more precise control of the microstructure. Additionally, greater focus has been put into understanding adhesion and surface interactions at heterogeneous interfaces in different material systems. However, there is still limited understanding of crack behavior in ceramic systems with anisotropic heterogeneous structures.

In this project, we seek to fabricate ceramic systems with microstructures that contain anisotropic heterogeneities and analyze the effect of these heterogeneities on fracture toughness. Ceramics will be produced using near net shapes methods such as gelcasting and viscous flow casting, as well as additive manufacturing methods such as stereolithography. The effect of these heterogenieties will be characterized mechanically and verified though modeling and simulation.