Constrained cavitation and fast fracture at metal-ceramic interfaces at elevated temperatures

Processes that constrain or promote cavity growth and fast fracture at elevated temperatures are examined. Solutions are given for the stress caused by inhomogeneous deposition of matter in metal-ceramic and alumina grain boundaries and for the tensile stress near the top of a hemispherical pore during pore growth. Velocities of dislocation climb that could promote fast fracture are calculated for elastic stresses acting upon dislocations arising from both a crack tip and interface repulsion. The rates for the atomic diffusive processes and the magnitudes of stresses resulting from them are found to agree well with experimental rate of pore growth, and new data on pore growth and fracture at an aluminum-sapphire interface are presented.