A Simple Method for Measuring Elastic Modulus of Small Specimens of Brittle Materials and Its Applications

Abstract

A simple method for the measurement of Young's modulus of small specimens of brittle materials was proposed and applied to measure Young's moduli of teeth, compact bones, ceramics [Al₂O₃-TiC, PSZ(ZrO₂-Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃), Al₂O₃, SiC and PSZ (ZrO₂-NbC)] and a carbon amorphous (glass-like carbon). The principle of the method is the three-point bending in which the deflection at a loading point is measured by Martens' mirror equipment system. In this system, a small amount of load ranging from 0.1 to 10N can be exactly applied and the deflection of about 10μm can be accurately measured. A very good linear relationship between load and deflection was obtained and Young's modulus was calculated from this linear relationship. The error of the present method is estimated to be less than 10% by measuring the materials of which Young's moduli are already known from the previous studies.