ANALYTICAL STUDY FOR THE STRESS-ANALYSIS OF METAL-MATRIX COMPOSITES

The knowledge of the mechanical properties of MMC are essential for th e design of structural components, in aerospace, automotive and other applications. This paper is mainly concerned with predicting the stren gth of MMC's. The yield stress of MMC materials varies with the inclus ions, alignment of the fibre and for the mismatch of coefficient of th ermal expansion. The stress is calculated with the help of Eshelby's i nclusion model, the Ashby's secondary slip model and Mori-Tanaka's bac k stress analysis. The theory is established for the general combined stress states where the effects of size, volume fraction of reinforcem ent and shape of the inclusions are considered. Experimental data for the Al/SiC composites are compared with the theoretical analysis.