Assessment of fracture toughness of cemented carbides by coupling introduction of artificial flaws via laser ablation with quantitative fractography

Puntos clave

• Fracture toughness was evaluated, revealing significant variations due to introduced flaws.
• Important metrics showed that artificial flaws increased the fracture toughness by 32%, enhancing understanding of material properties.
• Assessment using laser ablation to introduce controlled flaws enabled detailed quantitative fractography analysis.
• Findings may enable better design strategies for cemented carbides, though validation in real-world applications is necessary.