Indentation thermal shock test for ceramics

This paper presents an indentation-quench method to determine the resistance of ceramics to thermal cycling, The method defines a critical quench temperature difference, Delta T-c, based on a criterion which includes a minimum amount of crack growth and a minimum fraction of growing cracks, The method is applied to three different materials, which are ranked according to the individual values of Delta T-c. The variation of Delta T-c with different indentation loads and indentation positions is investigated, This technique uses a small number of specimens, avoids subsequent mechanical testing, and provides information about the Delta T-c of the materials. The effect of repeated cycling on crack extension is also discussed.