Structural ceramics, such as silicon nitride, silicon carbide, alumina and zirconia, have more potential than metallic materials for practical applications to various kinds of engineering components, especially for high temperature applications. For example, automotive engine parts, such as turbocharger rotors and swirl chambers, and ball bearing systems have been produced on a commercial basis using these materials for the last ten years. These industrial motivations have stimulated extensive progress in the research on evaluation of the strength properties of ceramics. In particular, cyclic fatigue has been investigated as one of the major concerns in the design of reliable ceramic components, and many researchers have been engaged in the field of cyclic fatigue in ceramics. As a result, new aspects such as crack bridging, R-curve behaviour and fracture morphology have been clarified in the last decade. This book presents, in three sections, the most recent topics and experimental techniques in Japan, concerning ceramic fatigue under cyclic loading. The first two sections provide state-of-the-art references for a fundamental understanding of ceramic fatigue, while the third section presents more complicated analytical techniques for statistical treatment and engineering application.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Fatigue behaviour and crack growth: strength and crack growth behaviour of sintered silicon nitride in cyclic fatigue, T. Tanaka et al; fatigue behaviour of structural ceramics at elevated temperatures, T. Machida et al; fracture mechanics fatigue tests and crack growth behaviours of ceramic materials up to very high temperatures, M. Kikukawa et al; cyclic fatigue behaviour of in-situ toughened silicon nitrides, K. Urashima et al. Part 2 Fatigue mechanisms: crack propagation behaviour and mechanism of a sintered silicon nitride under cyclic load, H. Kishimoto et al; fatigue crack growth mechanisms in ceramics, T. Kawakubo; crack growth characteristics of silicon nitride and alumina, A. Otsuka et al; fatigue crack growth of monolithic and composite ceramics, T. Ogawa. Part 3 Statistical properties and application: statistical aspect on fatigue fracture of structural ceramics under cyclic loading, T. Sakai and T. Hoshide; proof testing and subsequent fatigue characteristics in ceramics, T. Hoshide; rolling fatigue of hot isostatically pressed silicon nitride bearing balls with emphasis on statistical properties, M. Ichikawa et al; high temperature fatigue properties for some types of SiC and Si3N4 and the unified strength estimation method, N. Okabe and H. Hirata.