ANALYSIS OF THE METHODS FOR BENDING SMALL-SIZED DISKS ON A RING SUPPORT

Abstract

A number of methods for testing bending of thin discs on an annular support designed to determine the tensile strength of brittle materials, are considered. The methods differ in the type of a loading indenter (with flat, spherical, or toroidal tips), support devices, and calculation equations for determination of the breaking stress. The results of testing samples on an annular support made of two model materials which differ in the degree of brittleness, i.e., cast iron and graphite, are presented. It is shown that the calculated strength of the tested materials depends on the character of the sample destruction and on the type of bending diagram. Cast iron samples were destructed under a significant plastic deformation (characteristic bending diagram passed through the maximum), and the tensile strength of the samples corresponded to the compressive strength of the material being several times higher than the tensile strength of the material. Graphite samples underwent brittle fracture (within the linear section of the bending diagram), and the calculated strength value was comparable to the tensile strength of the material. A conclusion is made that the use of the test method of thin disk samples on an annular support for determination of the tensile strength of the material is substantiated only in the case of absolutely brittle fracture of samples with a bending diagram similar to the fracture diagram of graphite samples. Disk samples made of aluminum oxide obtained by electro-pulse sintering were tested using two methods (with flat and spherical tips). In both cases, the bending diagram of aluminum oxide samples was similar to that of graphite samples, i.e., their destruction occurred at the initial linear section of the diagram and was absolutely brittle. The results of comparative testing of the samples made of aluminum oxide, taking into account the results of testing samples made of model materials (cast iron and graphite), showed that tests on the annular support of disks using a flat-tipped indenter are the most grounded. The samples should be made of brittle materials having a linear bending diagram up to the sample destruction.