A new method for the preparation of ultra-sharp V-notches to measure fracture toughness in ceramics

The preparation of an ultra-sharp V-notch on structural ceramics is a prerequisite for reliable fracture toughness assessment. Femtosecond lasers are used to cut ultra-sharp V-notch on the Si3N4 and Al2O3 ceramics for fracture toughness testing by single-edge V-notched beam method. The radius of the V-notch tip is smaller than 0.5 μm. The KIc of Si3N4 and Al2O3 ceramics determined by this method is much close to the actual fracture toughness. This method exhibits obvious advantage in good reproducibility, high accuracy and precision for reliable fracture toughness testing of structural ceramics.