Effect of Polyaxial Stress States on Failure Strength of Alumina Ceramics

The effect of polyaxial stress fields on the brittle fracture strength of polycrystalline alumina was investigated through the use of thin‐walled cylinders. Combinations of internal pressure, external pressure, and axial loads produced stress states of tension‐compression, tension‐tension, and compression‐compression. The failure envelope was generated for these stress states. The results indicated that biaxial tensile stresses reduced the strength of the material; however, the tensile strength increased at least 50% when a compressive stress existed normal to the tensile direction. Compression strengths as high as 640,000 psi were measured for a biaxial compressive stress state.