Cohesive properties of nickel-alumina interfaces determined via simulation of ductile bridging experiments

A combined experimental and computational study is carried out to characterize a nickel-alumina interface in terms of the two parameter (σ̂, Γ₀) computational cohesive zone (CCZ) model of Tvergaard and Hutchinson. Experiments were performed using a sandwich specimen consisting of a thin nickel foil bonded between two pre-cracked alumina plates. The specimen was loaded in tension with the nickel foil bridging the cracks in the ceramic. Numerical simulations of the experiments were used to extract the parameters for the CCZ model.Effects of various parameters of the CCZ model are investigated and it is found that the most dominant parameter is the interface strength, σ̂. Effects of the residual thermal stresses are also investigated and it is shown that these stresses can enhance the specimen fracture toughness by almost 16%. The parameters for the nickel-alumina interface are found to be σ̂ = 148 MPa and Γ₀ = 11 J m⁻². It is observed that for the foil thicknesses tested, the work of rupture does not vary linearly with the thickness as predicted by many theoretical models. We found that interfaces which are neither too strong nor too weak contribute most to the overall fracture toughness of such a composite. Although the macroscopic loading at the nickel-alumina interface is shear, the failure is primarily tensile due to the thinning that occurs in the metal as it is stretched.