Journal of Materials Science, Vol.46, No.18, 6118-6123, 2011
Three-dimensional fractal analysis of fracture surfaces in titanium-iron particulate reinforced hydroxyapatite composites: relationship between fracture toughness and fractal dimension
Fractal dimension has been considered as a measure of fracture surface roughness of materials. Three-dimensional (3D) surface analysis is anticipated to provide a better evaluation of fracture surface toughness and fractal dimension. The objective of this study was to quantify the fracture surfaces and identify a potential relationship between fracture toughness and fractal dimension in a new type of core-shell titanium-iron particulate reinforced hydroxyapatite matrix composites using SEM stereoscopy coupled with a 3D surface analysis. The obtained results showed that both fracture surface roughness and fractal dimension increased with increasing amount of core-shell Ti-Fe reinforcing particles. The fractal dimension was observed to be a direct measure of fracture surface roughness. The fracture toughness of the composites increased linearly with the square root of fractal dimensional increment (i.e., followed the Mecholsky-Mackin equation well) due to the presence of Ti-Fe particles along with the effect of porosity in brittle materials. The 3D fractal analysis was suggested to be a proper tool for quantifying the fracture surfaces and linking the microstructural parameter to fracture toughness.