The paper considers methods for increasing crack resistance in ceramics, including microcracking in local stress areas, reorientation of crack movement, polymorphous martensite transition in partly stabilized zirconium dioxide, and bridging of cracks with a plastic phase or crystals with highly nonisometric shape (plates, needles, fibers) in the context of the irreversibility and nonequilibrium, producing self-organization, and a synergetic approach. The possibility of increasing crack resistance due to diffuse polymorphous transitions, twinning, and mechanochemical reactions is discussed.The desire to develop structures capable of operating in aggressive environments and at high temperatures made design engineers consider ceramics. The specifics of ceramics and, first of all, the brittle nature of their failure, make one search for ways of improving the crack resistance. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide for dissipation ofcrack energy [I]. In this connection it is necessary to pay the utmost attention to areas of stress concentration; the products should not have sharp angles, nicks, and other defects. The external shape of a product can be considered as an element of its macrostructure of maximum size in a series of other, smaller elements. Thus, the greater the size ofgrains and crystals, the greater the stresses arising at their boundaries..In order to provide thfore maximum strength, ceramics must be poreless and finely crystalline. To produce such ceramics, highly disperse powders, additive delaying the growth of crystals, and hot pressing [2] are used. Anisotropy of the coefficient of thermal linear expansion (CTLE) of the crystals combined with their highly non-isometric shape facilitates the emergence of microcracks at their boundaries. Ceramics produced from crystals with highly anisotropic CTLE has low CTLE and low strength due to the existence of microcracks at the boundaries. [3] The greater the size of the crystals, the larger the cracks and the lower the strength. With increasing temperature, the cracks disappear due to expansion 1 D.I. Mendeleev Russian Chemical Engineering University, Moscow, Russia; United Institute of High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow,Russia.
ofthe crystals and the strength ofceramics produced from anisotropic crystals increases.It is practically impossible to avoid the emergence of microcracks and other stress concentrators in the course of production of ceramics. Therefore, it is considered more promising to create a structure which impedes the cracks growth, i.e., dissipating to the maximum degree the energy of the crack. The energy of the crack can be dissipated in its frontal zone (apex) or in the planar zone [I]. In the frontal zone, the processes of microcracking, reorientation of the crack and polymorphous transition are the most promising for energy dissipation. In the planar zone, the mechanism of covering the crack with bridges, their plastic deformation, or drawing crystals from the crack walls takes place.For energy dissipation...