When failure occurs in ceramic materials, it is often catastrophic, instantaneous, and total. Now in its Second Edition, this important book arms readers with a thorough and accurate understanding of the causes of these failures and how to design ceramics for failure avoidance. It systematically covers:

Stress and strain

Types of mechanical behavior

Strength of defect-free solids

Linear elastic fracture mechanics

Measurements of elasticity, strength, and fracture toughness

Subcritical crack propagation

Toughening mechanisms in ceramics

Effects of microstructure on toughness and strength

Cyclic fatigue of ceramics

Thermal stress and thermal shock in ceramics

Fractography

Dislocation and plastic deformation in ceramics

Creep and superplasticity of ceramics

Creep rupture at high temperatures and safe life design

Hardness and wear

And more

While maintaining the first edition''s reputation for being an indispensable professional resource, this new edition has been updated with sketches, explanations, figures, tables, summaries, and problem sets to make it more student-friendly as a textbook in undergraduate and graduate courses on the mechanical properties of ceramics.

When failure occurs in ceramic materials, it is often catastrophic, instantaneous, and total. Now in its Second Edition, this important book arms readers with a thorough and accurate understanding of the causes of these failures and how to design ceramics for failure avoidance. It systematically covers:

Stress and strain

Types of mechanical behavior

Strength of defect-free solids

Linear elastic fracture mechanics

Measurements of elasticity, strength, and fracture toughness

Subcritical crack propagation

Toughening mechanisms in ceramics

Effects of microstructure on toughness and strength

Cyclic fatigue of ceramics

Thermal stress and thermal shock in ceramics

Fractography

Dislocation and plastic deformation in ceramics

Creep and superplasticity of ceramics

Creep rupture at high temperatures and safe life design

Hardness and wear

And more

While maintaining the first edition''s reputation for being an indispensable professional resource, this new edition has been updated with sketches, explanations, figures, tables, summaries, and problem sets to make it more student-friendly as a textbook in undergraduate and graduate courses on the mechanical properties of ceramics.