MODELING OF GLASS MATRIX COMPOSITES BY THE COUPLED CRITERION AND THE MATCHED ASYMPTOTICS APPROACH. THE ROLE OF A SINGLE PLATELET.

The fracture toughness of glass can be increased by introducing a second constituent with high modulus, strength and/or ductility. Among others, a very attractive solution for industrial proposes is the borosilicate glass/Al2O3 platelet composite. Hence, in this work different toughening mechanisms in this composite are analysed from the point of view of the Coupled Criterion, together with the Matched Asymptotics approach.
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