Influence of residual stresses on indentation crack patterns in zirconia-toughened alumina and ZrO_2 multilayer composites

摘要

Considerable work has been done in the past two decades on the development of laminate composites for property improvement. A common design thread in this development has been the concept of the laminate as continuum layers separated by weak interfaces, so that the dominant mode of toughening is by crack deflection [1-4]. This approach leaves dangerous cracks in the structures and leads to delamination failures. It also pays little attention to the potential role of microstructure on alternative modes of fracture control.