Damage assessment in an Al/SiC composite during monotonic tensile tests using synchrotron X-ray microtomography

High resolution X-ray tomography is used to study the evolution of damage in an Al/SiC composite during monotonie tensile tests at room temperature. Two main damage mechanisms are observed when the plastic regime is reached: (i) The cracking of the matrix on brittle oxides resulting from the processing of the material; (ii) the cracking of SiC particles. The aspect ratio of the broken particles along the tensile direction is found to be high and the damage accumulation rate is different at the surface and in the bulk of the material. Those results are discussed with respect to the resolution of the imaging technique and to the strain level reached during the tests.