Structural and Microstructural Design in Brittle Materials

Structural design with brittle materials requires that the stress level in the component correspond to a material survival probabi 1 i ty that exceeds the minimum survival probability permitted in that application. This can be achieved by developing failure models that fully account for the probability of fracture from defects within the material (including considerations of fracture statistics. fracture mechanics and stress analysis) coupled with non-destructive techniques that determine the size of the large extreme of critical defects. Approaches for obtaining the requisite information are described in this paper. The results provide implications for the microstructural design of failure resistant brittle materials by reducing the size of deleterious defects and enhancing the fracture toughness.