Abstract
The wide scatter in the results of the transverse rupture test on specimens of hardmetals of the same grade, and the overlap in the results of tests on different grades, have. been rationalized by examining the fracture surfaces of individual specimens. It is found that a major reason for the scatter in the test is that fracture is usually initiated at pores and other defects of various sizes, and the fracture stress depends on the defect size according to a Griffiths-type relation. This observation and other considerations concerning the position of the initiation site are used to provide a quantitative explanation of the results of transverse rupture tests; it is shown that the scatter in the results is due to the combined effects of test variability and material variability, and consequently the test does not measure an intrinsic material property.
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