Fracture toughness determination of dental materials by laboratory testing and finite element models

This study assessed the effectiveness of finite element analysis in predicting the stress intensity factor (KIC) for three types of dental materials: a glass ionomer, a dental amalgam, and a composite resin. Laboratory tests were conducted on small single-edge notch specimens loaded in three-point bending to determine values for fracture toughness (KQ). Using the dimensions measured for each laboratory specimen, a J integral approach was employed to calculate KIC using finite element analysis. Both two-dimensional plane strain and three-dimensional models were used in determining KIC for each specimen, and these values were compared to the KQ values obtained from laboratory tests. The results indicated that no significant differences existed between laboratory results and those obtained from both two- and three-dimensional finite element models (P > .85). For the three-dimensional model, values for KIC were found to vary across the specimen thickness, with the values at the center of the specimen closely paralleling those obtained from the two-dimensional plane strain model. It was concluded that the two-dimensional plane strain J integral technique was as effective as the three-dimensional technique in calculating values for KIC.