Damage prediction of sintered α-SiC using thermo-mechanical coupled fracture model

A three-way coupled thermo-mechanical fracture model is presented to predict the damage of brittle ceramics, in particular α-SiC, over a wide range of temperatures (20–1400°C). Predicting damage over such a range of temperatures is crucial for thermal protection systems for many systems such as spacecraft. The model, which has been implemented in MOOSE, is divided into three modules: elasticity, damage phase field, and heat conduction. Analytical approaches for determining crack lengthscales are presented for both simple tension and simple shear. Validation tests are conducted for both flexural strength and fracture toughness over the specified range of temperatures. Flexural strength simulation results fall within the uncertainty region of the experimental data, and mode I fracture toughness simulation results are also in agreement with the experimental data. Mode II and mixed mode fracture toughness simulations results are presented with the modified G-criterion. Finally, the parallel computing capabilities of the model are considered in various scalability tests.