A parametric study of the biaxial strength test for brittle materials

A parametric study of the biaxial strength test for two ceramic materials (alumina and glass) is reported. An attempt is made to establish certain variables which influence the biaxial strength of brittle materials. In particular, the effect of disc thickness, test rig diameter, loading ball diameter, load spreader under ball and finally rig design on the measured biaxial strengths for alumina and glass were considered. The measured biaxial strengths were observed to be significantly affected by the type of loading, disc diameter and loading ball diameter.