Thermal shock parameters of ceramics evaluated by infrared radiation heating

An infrared radiation (IR) heating method was used to evaluate thermal shock parameters (thermal shock strength and thermal shock fracture toughness) of float glass and alumina. This technique makes it possible to evaluate the parameters directly from the electric power of the IR heater. In this paper we discuss how the pertinent thermal shock parameters should be estimated both as physical properties of a material and as a function of temperature. The stress intensity factors for a disk with an edge crack were analyzed numerically under a thermal shock loading. The thermal shock parameters in both ambient and elevated-temperature environments were measured by the IR heating technique and the results were compared with predicted values, which combined such temperature-dependent properties of the material as Young's modulus, thermal conductivity, linear thermal expansion, and tensile strength or fracture toughness.