Finite element micromechanical modeling the damping behaviors of PMMCs at room temperature

The performance of PMMCs is often controlled by the properties of the parti culate/matrix interface. How the interface of particulate/matrix takes effe ct on the mechanical properties of PMMCs is a very interesting topic for th e materials scientists. In the present paper, the effects of the interface. strain amplitude and volume fraction of the particulate on the overall dam ping capacity of the PMMCs at the room temperature have been investigated. According to the difference of the adhesion strength of the interface, four kinds of interfaces which are free sliding interface, sliding with frictio n interface, bonded interface and ideal interface, have been considered. Th e results show that the condition of particulate/matrix interface of the PM MCs greatly affects the damping behavior of the composite. That is, the com posite with strong interface of high adhesion strength has lower damping ca pacity than that with weak interface. All the damping capacities increase w ith the strain amplitude exponentially for different volume fraction and in terface conditions, and the damping capacity of the whole composite increas es with the volume fraction of the particulate in the volume fraction range involved in the paper. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.