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.
The thermal shock behavior of three commercial-advanced ceramics (SSiC, MgO–PSZ, Al2O3) is characterized in air and vacuum applying a laser thermal shock. The available testing system permits the reproducible setting of defined temperature profiles in thin disks and allows a heating-up thermal shock in various media. Due to the accurate determination of the time- and space-resolved temperature distribution, the local stress state can be calculated as a function of time. It is shown that the thermal shock strength is highest for SSiC and lowest in Al2O3 with MgO–PSZ in between. The approach presented in this work allows quantifying the stress state at failure in terms of tangential tensile stress. The investigated environment does not affect the thermal shock resistance under the studied experimental conditions.