Stress in the interfaces of metal matrix composites (MMCs) in thermal and tensile loading

Abstract

The influence of contents, sizes and shapes of reinforcements on the matrix-particle interfaces in terms of (a) von-Mises stress, (b) directions as well as spreading of principal stresses during cooling and under tension were analysed in this investigation through numerical simulation for SiC particle reinforced Al6061 matrix MMCs. The result shows that the rapid variation of von-Mises stress in the interfaces depends on the shape of reinforced particles. The interfaces in MMCs with triangular reinforcements experienced the slimiest stress variation. Nevertheless, the uppermost stress was intensified in the corners of the triangle shaped reinforcements. The shape of the reinforcements affects the stress vectors directions. The range of the von-Mises stress rises through the rise of particle amount and decrease of particles size at a constant number of particles. For nearly all the cases, excluding the MMCs with triangle reinforcements, when the stress rises, with the rise of the applied positive elongation, the stress scatterings are unaffected.