Fracture toughness of ceramics using the SEVNB method; round robin

Numerous methods are currently in use to measure the fracture toughness of ceramic materials. However, methods based on widely accepted theories are often difficult to realise, unreliable, or expensive. A simple and cost-saving method, the single-edge-V-notched beam (SEVNB) method, was recently reintroduced. With this method, a saw cut is tapered by hand or with a simple machine (Fig.1) to a sharp V-notch (Fig.2) using a razor blade sprinkled with diamond paste. In an international round robin, the fracture toughness was measured with the SEVNB method (Fig.3) on five ceramic materials. Jakob Kubler1*