Cracking Behavior of fused silica glass in sphere indentation

The present paper describes cracking behavior of brittle materials in sphere indentation experiment. Fused silica glass plates were used for the specimen. An electro-mechanical testing apparatus was applied for the experiment. A silicon nitride sphere was penetrated with various cross head speed in air at room temperature. Au coating was applied on the testing surface to avoid the effect of corrosion. The cracking behavior was observed continuously during the test by installing a CCD camera with a lens assembly behind the specimen and was recorded with a digital memory. Acoustic emission (AE) measurement was also connected for the evaluation. The indentation strength based on an elastic contact theory was calculated. Reliability of the fracture load determination by AE measurement and the effect of cross head speed on the cracking behavior were evaluated. Obtained results revealed that the control of cross head speed was important for the indentation strength measurement.