Influence of Porosity and Pore Distributions on Strength Properties of Porous Alumina

In this work, strength properties of porous alumina with three different porosities as well as dense one were investigated to clarify porosity effects on strength properties. It was revealed that the strength had a general tendency to decrease drastically as increasing porosity. Spatial and size distributions of pores were characterized by observing specimen surfaces through a laser scanning microscope. Based on the observed pore characteristics, a procedure to estimate porosity effects on strength was newly developed in the framework of fracture mechanics, where a stress intensity factor-based criterion was applied for fracture of porous ceramics. In the procedure, it is assumed that porous ceramics have the same characteristics of crack distribution as those of pore distribution, and pores are presumed to be surrounded by virtual cracks. Monte Carlo simulations by using the procedure were carried out to estimate strength for four respective materials. Simulated strength coincided with experimentally observed one within a scatter band of factor of 2^1/2. Consequently, the developed procedure was confirmed to be efficient in evaluating effects of bulk porosity and pore distributions on strength of porous alumina.