Quantification of microdamage phenomena during tensile straining of high volume fraction particle reinforced aluminium Original Research Article

Particle reinforced composites are produced by infiltrating ceramic particle beds with 99.99% Al. Resulting materials feature a relatively high volume fraction (40–55 vol. pct) of homogeneously distributed reinforcement. The evolution of damage during tensile straining of these composites is monitored using two indirect methods; namely by tracking changes in density and in Youngʹs modulus. Identification and quantification of the active damage mechanisms is conducted on polished sections of failed tensile specimens; particle fracture and void formation in the matrix are the predominant damage micromechanisms in these materials. The damage parameter derived from the change in density at a given strain is found to be one to two orders of magnitude smaller than the parameter based on changes in Youngʹs modulus. A simple micromechanical analysis inspired by the observed damage micromechanisms is used to correlate the two indirect measurements of damage. The predictions of this analysis are in good agreement with experiment.