The marginal fracture toughness of several types of composite resins was determined by means of the rattler test. Microparticle-filled resins showed significantly higher marginal fracture toughness than conventional composites. Posterior restorative composites were intermediate between MFRs and conventional composites. Amalgams were inferior to restorative resins. These data correspond with the...

A preliminary theoretical study is carried out of the role of micron-scale patterning on the interface toughness of bonded Cu-to-Cu nanometer-scale films. The work is motivated by the experimental studies of [Tadepalli, R., Turner, K.T., Thompson, C.V., 2008b. Effects of patterning on the interface toughness of wafer-level Cu–Cu bonds. Acta Materialia 56, 438–447; Tadepalli, R., Turner, K.T., T...

With careful design, mixed microstructures consisting of fine plates of upper bainitic ferrite separated by thin films of stable retained austenite have exhibited impressive combinations of strength and toughness in highsilicon bainitic steels. The silicon suppresses the precipitation of brittle cementite leading to an improvement in toughness. The essential principles governing the optimisatio...

Mechanisms influencing the plane-strain fracture toughness behavior of commercial aluminum-lithium alloys at cryogenic temperatures are investigated as a function of microstructure and plate orientation. It is confirmed that certain alloys show a marked increase in tensile ductility and toughness with decrease in temperature, although such behavior is not found in the short-transverse orientati...

The aging-related deterioration of the fracture properties of bone, coupled with higher life expectancy, is responsible for increasing incidence of bone fracture in the elderly; consequently, an understanding of how these fracture properties degrade with age is essential. In this study, ex vivo fracture experiments have been performed to quantitatively assess the effect of age on human cortical...

The terrestrial slug Arion subfuscus produces a defensive secretion that is sticky and tough, despite being a dilute gel. It is unusual in having high stiffness for a gel, yet retaining the high extensibility typical of mucus. In tensile tests, it sustains an average peak stress of 101 kPa, and fails at an average strain of 9.5. This gives the gel toughness; it requires much greater strain ener...

Natural structural materials such as bone and seashells are made of relatively weak building blocks, yet they exhibit remarkable combinations of stiffness, strength and toughness. This performance can be largely explained by their ‘‘staggered microstructure’’: stiff inclusions of high aspect ratio are laid parallel to each other with some overlap, and bonded by a softer matrix. While stiffness ...

Fracture toughness of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF) in both bulk and film forms after sintering at 900°C to 1200°C was measured using both single-edge V-notched beam (SEVNB) 3-point bending and Berkovich indentation. FIB/SEM slice-and-view observation after indentation revealed the presence of Palmqvist radial crack systems after indentation of the bulk materials. Based on crack length measur...

A quantitative trait locus (QTL) has been identified on chromosome 18 in Texel sheep (TM-QTL) that increases depth and area of the longissimus dorsi muscle. The study aimed to assess the pleiotropic QTL effects on key meat quality traits (toughness and intramuscular fat content after >or=7 days aging) of crossbred lambs carrying one copy of the TM-QTL. The results showed that male TexelxMule la...

The fracture toughness, K IC, of a cortical bone has been experimentally determined by several researchers. The variation of K IC values occurs from the variation of specimen orientation, shape, and size during the experiment. The fracture toughness of a cortical bone is governed by the severest flaw and, hence, may be analyzed using Weibull statistics. To the best of the authors' knowledge, ho...