Weibull modulus

The Weibull modulus is a dimensionless parameter of the Weibull distribution which is used to describe variability in measured material strength of brittle materials.

For ceramics and other brittle materials, the maximum stress that a sample can be measured to withstand before failure may vary from specimen to specimen, even under identical testing conditions. This is related to the distribution of physical flaws present in the surface or body of the brittle specimen, since brittle failure processes originate at these weak points. When flaws are consistent and evenly distributed, samples will behave more uniformly than when flaws are clustered inconsistently. This must be taken into account when describing the strength of the material, so strength is best represented as a distribution of values rather than as one specific value. The Weibull modulus is a shape parameter for the Weibull distribution model which, in this case, maps the probability of failure of a component at varying stresses.