Tensile fracture in notched polycrystalline graphite specimens

Brittle fracture was studied experimentally and theoretically for a polycrystalline graphite using samples containing rounded-tip V-notches. Three different geometric notch shapes were investigated. A fracture theory was developed to determine the notch fracture toughness and experimental results agreed well with the theory. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.