Grain-Level Simulation of Dynamic Failure in Ceramic Materials

Abstract

137 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2002.To demonstrate the capabilities and versatility of the grain-based CVFE code, we investigate four dynamic fracture problems. The first one is concerned with the propagation of dynamic intergranular cracks under mode I loading, with special emphasis on the effect of the microstructure on the branching instability of the crack motion. The second problem is that of dynamic fracture under mode II loading and the capture of the associated elastic bridging of the crack by partially or completely dislodged grains. The third application is that of dynamic fragmentation of ceramic materials primarily under tensile conditions. The emphasis here is to understand the effect of the microstructure and cohesive strength of the material on the onset of the failure event and on the fragment size distribution. Finally, we present the results of a preliminary study of a dynamic single grit scratch test used to simulate the damage created by a single grinding particle on the machined ceramic component.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD