Thermal shock behaviour of a coarse grain porous alumina. Part II Stress intensity factor and damage evaluation

The detailed analysis of the temperature field during thermal shock of an alumina specimen presented in Part I is used to evaluate the transient stress field. The dependence with temperature of the elastic constants has been taken into account. After showing that the tensile stress is maximum at the centre of the largest specimen face, the transient stress intensity factor has been calculated. The flaw distribution and the critical stress intensity factor have been measured and reported on the stress intensity factor calculation. The experimental results in terms of thermal shock resistance have been compared to the theoretical prediction. The good correlation observed here suggests that a fine description of the thermal shock test and damage behaviour can be done.