Fracture of a brittle particulate composite

A study was made of the fracture process in a model brittle composite containing nickel spheres in a glass matrix. The macroscopic fracture characteristics of the system were determined by fracture surface energy, fracture strength and elastic modulus measurements. The microstructures of the composites were defined using quantitative microscopy and the fracture process was studied by the technique of ultrasonic fractography. This procedure traced changes in the crack front configuration and local crack velocity as the crack interacted with the array of nickel particles.