Understanding the thermal durability of wood-based composites (WBCs) using crack propagation fracture toughness

Fracture Toughness of Wood and Wood Composites during Crack Propagation

The mode I fracture toughness as a function of crack length of medium density fiberboard (MDF), particle board (PB), and Douglas-fir (DF) were all measured using a new energy-based method. PB and MDF are examples of composites that develop fiber bridging during crack propagation, which causes their toughness to increase with crack length. Longitudinal cracks in DF also displayed fiber bridging ...

Buoyancy-driven crack propagation: the limit of large fracture toughness

Fracture Toughness of Polypropylene-Based Particulate Composites

The fracture behaviour of polymers is strongly affected by the addition of rigid particles. Several features of the particles have a decisive influence on the values of the fracture toughness: shape and size, chemical nature, surface nature, concentration by volume, and orientation. Among those of thermoplastic matrix, polypropylene (PP) composites are the most industrially employed for many di...

Fracture toughness of dental composites determined using the short-rod fracture toughness test.

Plane strain fracture toughness (KIC) has been evaluated for a number of commercially-available dental composites. A modified Short-rod Fracture Toughness (SRFT) specimen design has been used, enabling small specimens to be tested conveniently. The effect on KIC of aging in water at 37 degrees C for seven days, one month, and six months has been determined for conventional, microfilled, and hyb...

Fracture and Fatigue Crack Propagation in Graded Composites

The propagation of cracks in graded materials under monotonic and cyclic loading was investigated via experiment and simulation. Graded alumina/epoxy composite specimens exhibiting a variation in composition from 5% to 65% epoxy, representing a twenty-fold variation in Young’s modulus, across a region of width between 6 and 20 mm, were produced by a multistep infiltration technique. Crack initi...