A brief guide to conducting failure analysis on ceramic components

Failure investigations are mainly conducted for the purpose of clarifying the root causes for component failure. Possible aims of these investigations are to analyze the unexpected failure of a component during operation, to improve the material and to assess the quality of a product. Usually, ceramics can be used in similar ways as other structural materials. There are particularities, however, which need to be considered in failure analysis of ceramic components.This paper will therefore give a brief overview of the types of damage which may occur in ceramic materials, with the focus being on failures occurring at room temperature and medium temperatures (e. g., brittle fracture, contact stresses or stresses caused by rapid temperature changes).