Finite element analysis for uniaxial time-dependent ratcheting of SiCP/6061Al composites at room and high temperatures

The cyclic deformation, especially the time-dependent ratcheting behaviors of SiC particulate reinforced 6061Al alloy composites in uniaxial cyclic straining and cyclic stressing at room and high temperatures (573 K) were analyzed by finite element code ABAQUS, respectively, using the single particulate model of the composites and employing axi-symmetrical 2-D 6-node elements. The ratcheting behaviors of un-reinforced matrix metals occurred in uniaxial cyclic stressing with non-zero mean stress were addressed by a new visco-plastic constitutive model with nonlinear kinematic hardening rule developed by Kang [G.Z. Kang, Mech. Mater. 36 (2004) 299–312] for cyclic stable materials. In the calculation, the particulates were assumed as elastic during the whole loading process. Comparing with the experimental results of T6-treated SiCp/6061Al composites, it is shown that the finite element model employed is reasonable to simulate the uniaxial time-dependent cyclic deformations of the composites at room and high temperatures, and some microscopic deformation features and the effect of particulate shape on the overall response of the composites are also revealed by the numerical simulation. Some significant conclusions are obtained, which are useful to establish a constitutive model to describe the ratcheting of the composites.