Measurement of Indentation Residual Stresses in Materials Susceptible to Slow Crack Growth

Knowledge of the size and distribution of the indentation residual stress field is important when interpreting slow crack growth data for indented ceramic materials. A technique based on compressively loading indentation cracks has been used to measure the wedging residual stresses at radial indentation cracks. The method also gives information on the fatigue limit and can be applied on any ceramic material susceptible to slow crack growth. Soda–lime glass specimens were indented and the resulting residual stresses, wedging the radial cracks, were measured as a function of indentation load. Calculations of K ₀, the fatigue limit, were made for both virgin indentation cracks and cracks aged until saturation. The magnitude of closing stress needed to prevent slow crack growth was found to depend linearly on the indentation load. For example, for indentation loads of 20 and 60 N, the corresponding closing stresses were 14 and 26 MPa, respectively.