Fracture Toughness of a Partially Stabilized ZrO2 in the System CaO‐ZrO2

The room‐temperature fracture behavior of partially stabilized ZrO 3 (PSZ) in the system CaO‐ZrO 2 was investigated. Fracture energy was measured using standard single‐edge‐crack and work‐of‐fracture techniques. Attempts were made to relate the fracture toughness parameters to the microstructure of the material. Stable crack propagation was always observed; a model is proposed to explain these observations on the basis of the formation of a …