The determination of critical failure parameters during thermal shock requires a time and space resolved temperature measurement of the sample. High frequency pyrometry is a suitable technique for such a measurement task, which usually requires the knowledge of the optical properties of the investigated material. Another challenge is the infrared transparency of materials to be checked in the wavelength range of the pyrometer. The thermal shock disks are very thin, due to the need of homogeneous temperature distribution and to maintain a two-dimensional problem. To allow a pyrometric temperature measurement a universal calibration method for high frequency infrared cameras has been developed. Pyrometry in various media was demanded, as well as the estimation of optical properties (reflection, transmittance and emission) for the selected ceramics to be tested.
Laser thermal shock experiments - performance and evaluation on the basis of advanced ceramics
(2011)
The thermal shock behaviour in air and vacuum of three different advanced ceramics is investigated by introducing a new testing method. This thermal shock testing system permits the reproducible setting of defined temperature profiles in thin disks. In order to perform heating - up thermal shock experiments under reproducible conditions and to measure the transient temperature fields, a laser beam is directed spirally across the surface of the specimen. In this process, the specimen is heated up faster than the temperature gradient is compensated by thermal conductivity. Resulting temperature fields were recorded space and time resolved. Based on the knowledge of the local temperature distribution at the moment of failure, the critical fracture stress can be calculated. The scatter of thermal shock strength is quantitatively determined for the tested ceramics by using a improved statistical method.