Weibull analysis of the biaxial fracture strength of a cast p-type LAST-T thermoelectric material

Abstract

This is the first study applying Weibull statistics to the strength distribution of a thermoelectric (TE) material and to determine the fracture strength of a member of the LAST-T (lead–antimony–silver–tellurium–tin) family of high-temperature TE compounds. The p-type TE material Ag0.9Pb9Sn9Sb0.6Te20 was cast from the melt and specimens cut from the resulting ingot were fractured in a ball-on-ring biaxial fracture test. The Weibull parameters (characteristic strength and Weibull modulus) were obtained from the fracture data. Implications of the Weibull analysis on the fabrication of TE devices are discussed.