A test equipment was designed to study thermal shock and thermal fatigue of ceramic materials subjected to fast heating (ascending). The equipment was designed to generate thermal stress in a test specimen by heating one surface of it by an oxy-hydrogen flame while cooling the opposite surface. The sample cracked when thermal stress exceeded its mechanical strength. The in situ crack formation was detected by an acoustic emission system coupled to the set up. The hot zone temperature was measured by an infra red pyrometer. The equipment was also designed to run thermal fatigue test cycles in automatic mode between two selected temperatures. The temperature and thermal stress distribution in the test specimen were modelled using finite element software. The effect of temperature distribution of the top and bottom surfaces on thermal stresses was studied. It was observed that the thermal stress is very sensitive to the temperature distribution on the top surface and maximum near the periphery of the top surface. This was in agreement with the experimental results in which the cracks were originated from the periphery of top surface. It was also observed that the failure temperature was higher for thicker samples.
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