Microstructural design of platelet reinforced ceramics

Platelet reinforcement can increase the fracture toughness of ceramics. However, the responsible mechanisms are still not clearly understood. In this paper we examine the role of residual stresses due to thermal expansion mismatch. The residual stress distribution can be calculated using the effective-field approximation for ellipsoidal inclusions. The three main toughening mechanisms (crack deflection, crack bridging, and microcracking) are …