In the present study, densification, mechanical properties (elastic modulus,
hardness, flexural strength) and stored elastic energy-fragmentation of the
pure Al2O3 and Al2O3-Cr2O3 ceramics with different Cr2O3 volume content
(0.5, 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 vol.%) were investigated. The fragmentation
behaviour was interpreted from the point of armour application as larger
fragments are required for higher penetration resistance. The equibiaxial
flexural strength test method was used to measure the fracture strength
values. A similar densification behaviour was obtained for the pure Al2O3
and the Al2O3-Cr2O3 ceramic specimens with 0.5, 10 and 20 vol.% Cr2O3 with
the obtained relative densities of around 97%TD. The elastic modulus of the
pure Al2O3 and Al2O3-Cr2O3 ceramic specimens showed consistent values with
the densification except for the Al2O3-Cr2O3 ceramics containing 20 vol.%
Cr2O3. All Al2O3-Cr2O3 ceramics have lower flexural strength values than the
pure Al2O3. The pure Al2O3 had the smallest crack surface area accompanying
the largest fragment size for given fracture energy. This indicates that the
pure Al2O3 will break into larger pieces in case of a possible impact.