EFFECTS OF CLADDING ON THE TENSILE PROPERTIES OF TITANIUM MATRIX COMPOSITES

The effects of monolithic titanium cladding on the tensile properties of fiber-reinforced titanium matrix composites (TMCs) have been studie d. The work is motivated by the realization that most TMC components c urrently under development will be clad with monolithic titanium alloy s in order to prevent damage to the fibers during component manufactur e and in service. The focus has been on the elastic modulus, the yield strength, and the failure stress and strain. Experiments have been co nducted on panels with two different clad thicknesses as well as a pan el without cladding. The experimental results have been compared with predictions of models based on an effective (average) fiber volume fra ction. The correlations between the experiments and the model predicti ons indicate that these properties are insensitive to the spatial dist ribution of fibers.