Mechanical Properties of CaO–Al2O3–SiO2 Glass-Ceramics Precipitating Hexagonal CaAl2Si2O8 Crystals

Abstract

Fracture behavior via a flexural test for a newly found CaO–Al2O3–SiO2 (CAS) glass-ceramic (GC) was compared with that of enstatite GC and mica GC, which are well-known GCs with high-fracture toughness and machinability, respectively. By focusing on the nonelastic load–displacement curves, CAS GC was characterized as a less brittle material similar to machinable mica GC, compared with enstatite GC, which showed higher fracture toughness, KIC. The microcrack toughening mechanism in CAS GC was supported by the nondestructive observation of microcracks around the Vickers indentation using the X-ray microcomputed tomography technique. The CAS GC also showed higher transparency than mica GC due to its low crystallinity. Moreover, the precursor glass had easy formability due to its low-liquidus temperature.