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Apparent Interfacial Fracture Toughness of Resin/Ceramic Systems

¹ School of Dentistry, The University of Passo Fundo, PO Box 611, Passo Fundo, RS, 99001-970, Brazil;
² Department of Dental Biomaterials, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA; and
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA

^* corresponding author, dbona{at}upf.br

We suggest that the apparent interfacial fracture toughness (K_A) may be estimated by fracture mechanics and fractography. This study tested the hypothesis that the K_A of the adhesion zone of resin/ceramic systems is affected by the ceramic microstructure. Lithia disilicate-based (Empress2-E2) and leucite-based (Empress-E1) ceramics were surface-treated with hydrofluoric acid (HF) and/or silane (S), followed by an adhesive resin. Microtensile test specimens (n = 30; area of 1 ± 0.01 mm²) were indented (9.8 N) at the interface and loaded to failure in tension. We used tensile strength () and the critical crack size (c) to calculate K_A (K_A = Yc^1/2) (Y = 1.65). ANOVA and Weibull analyses were used for statistical analyses. Mean K_A (MPa·m^1/2) values were: (E1HF) 0.26 ± 0.06; (E1S) 0.23 ± 0.06; (E1HFS) 0.30 ± 0.06; (E2HF) 0.31 ± 0.06; (E2S) 0.13 ± 0.05; and (E2HFS) 0.41 ± 0.07. All fractures originated from indentation sites. Estimation of interfacial toughness was feasible by fracture mechanics and fractography. The K_A for the systems tested was affected by the ceramic microstructure and surface treatment.

KEY WORDS: structural reliability • fracture • fractography • fracture toughness • Weibull modulus