Fracture and Toughening of Intermetallics

This article presents an overview of the fatigue and fracture mechanisms and toughening of some group of intermetallics. Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth of α2 and γ-based titanium aluminides as well as niobium aluminides and molybdenum disilicides are elucidated. Following a brief introduction for these group of intermetallics, the toughening mechanisms of fracture for these intermetallics under monotonic and cyclic loading was explored. Materials and mechanistic models are also presented for the prediction of deformation twinning and transformation deformation toughening ratios to understand the fracture toughening contribution of the reinforcements. Finally, the implications for the design of next generation mechanical components and structures are discussed.