Experimental and numerical researches of dynamic failure of a high strength alumina/boride ceramic composite

The dynamic compressive behavior of Al2O3 (10% vol.) / TiB2 ceramic composite had been tested by using a split Hopkinson pressure bar in this paper. The results show that the main failure modes of the ceramic composite include crushed failure and split fracture along the loading direction. The former is the typical compressive failure of brittle materials. The later is tensile failure along the flaws produced during the composite manufacturing. The numerical simulation was also used to study the effect of the diameter/length ratio of the samples on the experimental results. The effect of the deformation in the bars' ends, which contacted with the samples, was also studied in the numerical models.