The fracture toughness behaviour of interpenetrating phase composites

The fracture toughness properties of two interpenetrating phase composites (IPCs)—a bronze-infiltrated porous 420 stainless steel and a polymer resin-impregnated porous 316L stainless steel—have been measured using ASTM Standard E 813-89. Both IPCs exhibited stable crack growth at all volume fractions, resulting from an increase in toughness with crack growth (R-curve behaviour). Initiation toughness, JIc, increased and R-curve behaviour became more pronounced with increasing volume fraction of the more ductile constituent phase. R-curve behaviour is attributed to the mechanisms of crack bridging and unloading in the wake of a process zone, which is characterized by secondary cracking and plasticity. The importance of an interpenetrating phase morphology is dependent upon the combination of materials, but it appears that interconnecting the more ductile phase will result in increased toughness, particularly if this is the stronger and stiffer phase. The application of ASTM Standard E 813-89 to the IPCs investigated was found to result in a large number of validity criterion failures. The implications of these failures are discussed.