Applicability of the diametral compression test for strength measurements of ceramics

For the strength measurement of brittle materials, frequently the Diametral Compression Test is applied due to the easy handling. Nevertheless, investigation of tthe crack initiation and propagation leads to doubts on the gerneral applicability of the test method, because discrepancies between the theoretical prediction of the failure mode and the experimental results occur. Based on 3-Dimensional Finite Element (FE) studies, the stress distribution in the sample is characterized which results in indications of the reasons for the described inconsistency.