I am currently doing an assignment based on brittleness.

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The discussion revolves around the topic of brittleness, with participants suggesting resources for further information, including textbooks like "Material Science And Engineering" and "Engineering Fracture Mechanics." Key points include the relationship between brittleness and strength, where brittle materials often exhibit high strength but lack ductility, leading to sudden failure. The conversation highlights applications of brittle materials, such as ceramics and coatings, which can provide advantages despite their fragility. Additionally, methods to alter brittleness, such as annealing, are mentioned, noting that while ductility can be gained, it may come at the cost of strength. Overall, the dialogue emphasizes the complexity of brittleness and its implications in material science.
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I am currently doing an assignment based on brittleness. But it seems like there is not much information I can get by google it..Can anyone help me to find more information about this topic?
Thanks in advance..:smile:
 
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I would suggest you get a copy of Material Science And Engineering: An Introduction, by William D. Callister, Jr. at the library. It has enough information to give you a background.

-Chapter 8 in the 2007 edition.
 
You might find more fruit by googling 'fracture toughness'. The book recommended by cyrus is pretty good, as is Ingraffea & Schwalbe's 'Engineering Fracture Mechanics".
 
...I'd add Ted Anderson's "Fracture Mechanics" to the mix. A well written and understandable book (and widespread library wise), containing lots about different forms and types of brittleness (which is a pretty vague topic so I hope your assignment narrows it down a bit).
 
Brittleness implies little plastic or permanent strain/deformation to failure.
 
What exactly is your paper concentrating on when it comes to brittleness? Like Astro was mentioning, many materials are naturally brittle, while others can become brittle with heat treating or work hardening.

Do you have any aspects of brittleness in particular that you were hoping to cover?

For very basic aspects of brittleness in metals, take a look into why a blacksmith used to have to heat, and reheat and reheat again horseshoes when they were being made by hand in the old days.
 
Does brittle material has any good side? Does it hold any advantage than others materials?
 
Generally speaking, the more brittle the material, the higher the strength. The consequence is that it has zero forgiveness. If you get to the yield point you will get sudden and catastrophic failure. This is why things are typically made with metals that have some ductility to them. They will yield before failing.
 
frozen7 said:
Does brittle material has any good side? Does it hold any advantage than others materials?

Consider materials typically taken as brittle like ceramics and advantages they have, use of brittle materials as coatings etc composites ... (for example if we wouldn't have "brittle" coatings and had to rely on "ductile" materials in those applications would be in a world of hurt) (even our ductile materials would be pretty "crappy" if they wouldn't contain their brittle microstructural elements :biggrin: ). .
 
  • #10
"Brittle" is also synonymous with "rigid". So, and applications where you need a component that will not bend or flex, you would want a rigid material. This is why tungsten and carbide are used a lot in cutting tools.
 
  • #11
Besides by increasing the fracture toughness of certain materials to reduce the brittleness, is there any other way to do it?
 
  • #12
You can anneal the metal and gain ductility, but you will lose strength in the process.
 
  • #13
cyrusabdollahi said:
You can anneal the metal and gain ductility, but you will lose strength in the process.


What strength do you mean?
 
  • #14
Strength is the resistance to plastic deformation.
 
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