Influence of silicon carbide particulate reinforcement on quasi static and cyclic fatigue fracture behavior of 6061 aluminum alloy composites

In this paper, the quasi-static and cyclic fatigue fracture behavior of aluminum alloy 6061 discontinuously-reinforced with fine particulates of silicon carbide are presented and discussed. The discontinuous particulate-reinforced 6061 aluminum alloy was cyclically deformed to failure at ambient temperature under stress-amplitude controlled conditions. The influence of volume fraction of particulate reinforcement on high cycle fatigue response is presented. The underlying mechanisms governing the fracture behavior during quasi-static and cyclic fatigue deformation are discussed and rationalized in light of concurrent and mutually interactive influences of composite microstructural features, deformation characteristics of the metal matrix and reinforcement particulate, nature of loading and ductility of the microstructure.