Knowledge of size effect of thermal shock properties of ceramics is a prerequisite in engineering applications. In the present study, the size effect of the cracking in the ceramic materials subjected to water quenching has been experimentally conducted. Based on the Rizk model, the equivalent specimen width of the elastic strip with cracks is introduced and modified to describe the effect of cracks on the deformation of the elastic strip underwater quenching. It is found that the simulation obtained from the proposed modified model is in good agreement with the experimental results. And the reasons for the size effect of crack depth and crack growth into the compressive region are well analyzed by theoretical results. The proposed model is expected to provide a powerful tool to characterize and predict the size effect on thermal shock crack of ceramic materials.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10483-016-2075-8

The authors are grateful for the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China through grant number 11272313.