The fractals theory has been increasingly applied in the field of materials science and engineering. Models of fractal lines and surfaces have been generated to describe the microstructural features of materials. Special interest is placed upon a description of the fracture surface based on a fractal geometry in order to understand the crack path in materials. Several papers have demonstrated the relationship between the fractal dimension of a fracture surface and the values of roughness and fracture toughness. In this work an extension of the theory of fractals for ceramic materials is proposed, to which the crack deflection toughening mechanism is thought to be related. In order to accomplish this objective, a review describing the concept of fractals and its relationship with the fracture toughness is presented. In the following part, a correlation between fractal dimension, total energy of fracture and the average resistance to crack propagation is proposed; all these parameters being dependent on the history and on the complexity of crack propagation path.
fractals; ceramics; fracture surface; total energy of fracture; R-curve
