Journal of Materials Science, Vol.30, No.21, 5479-5483, 1995
A Small-Specimen Investigation of the Fracture-Toughness of Ti5Si3
The fracture toughness of the refractory hardmetal Ti5Si3, with a grain size between 5 and 6 mu m, was measured using the controlled-flaw method in conjunction with the miniaturized disc-bend test. The specimens used in these experiments were 3 mm diameter and varied in thickness from 150-450 mu m They were indented using a Vickers pyramid indentor to indention loads varying from 2.9-79.2 N. Indentation cracking was experienced at all indentation loads, and R-curve behaviour was exhibited. The fracture toughness was determined to be 2.69 +/- 0.21 MPa m(1/2) using a straightforward graphical procedure involving an empirical R-curve equation. This value is almost 30% higher than that of similar material (2.1 MPa m(1/2)) with a larger grain size, suggesting that the fracture toughness of this material, which fractures intergranularly, might be grain-size dependent.