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Transgranular fracture
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<p>Transgranular fracture is a type of <a href="/facts/Fracture/nxDNAj0d">fracture</a> that occurs through the crystal grains of a material. In contrast to <a href="/facts/Intergranular_fracture/9gRWSgkQ">intergranular fractures</a>, which occur when a fracture follows the grain boundaries, this type of fracture traverses the material's microstructure directly through individual grains. This type of fracture typically results from a combination of high stresses and material defects, such as voids or inclusions, that create a path for crack propagation through the grains. A broad range of ductile or brittle materials, including metals, ceramics, and polymers, can experience transgranular fracture. When examined under <a href="/facts/Scanning_electron_microscope/yzK0hsSx">scanning electron microscopy</a>, this type of fracture reveals cleavage steps, river patterns, feather markings, dimples, and tongues. The fracture may change directions somewhat when entering a new grain in order to follow the new <a href="/facts/Crystal_structure/bJ4bCeHd">lattice</a> orientation of that grain but this is a less severe direction change then would be required to follow the grain boundary. This results in a fairly smooth looking fracture with fewer sharp edges than one that follows the grain boundaries. This can be visualized as a <a href="/facts/Jigsaw_puzzle/pPDDQGqE">jigsaw puzzle</a> cut from a single sheet of wood with the wood grain showing. A transgranular fracture follows the grains in the wood, not the jigsaw edges of the puzzle pieces. This is in contrast to an intergranular fracture which, in this analogy, would follow the jigsaw edges, not the wood grain. </p>