A heterogeneous brittle material characterized by a random field of local toughness K c (x) can be represented by an equivalent homogeneous medium of toughness, K eff. Homogenization refers to a process of estimating K eff from the local field K c (x). An approach based on a perturbative expansion of the stress intensity factor along a rough crack front shows the occurrence of different regimes...

the basic trait in the ceramics is their high brittle or low fracture toughness, and the main criteria in the design and application is specifying the fracture toughness in ceramics. in this paper, a new method is proposed to determine the fracture toughness of ceramics, which is enhanced in lowering the cost of fracture toughness determination relative to the previous methods. hence due to the...