Interlaminar tensile strength of Alumina-Based Oxide/Oxide ceramic matrix composite at room temperature and 1200 °C using diametral compression test method

The diametral compression test method on circular disks is used in this study to determine the interlaminar tensile strength of an alumina-based Oxide/Oxide ceramic matrix composite at room temperature, 1200 degrees C, and at room temperature after being thermally aged for 150 h at 1200 degrees C. Digital image correlation was used in all the tests to measure the full-field strain and observe the progression of interlaminar failure. Post-test fractography was performed to identify the fracture characteristics. All the specimens failed along the disk diameter that coincided with the line of loading, proving the reliability and repeatability of the test method. The thermally aged specimens showed the stiffest response and the highest interlaminar tensile strength. This is attributed to further densification of the matrix due to the thermal aging, confirmed by microstructural characterization. The path of fracture at catastrophic failure traversed the matrix in both the inter-ply and intra-ply regions.