M. Guden et Iw. Hall, HIGH STRAIN-RATE COMPRESSION TESTING OF A SHORT-FIBER-REINFORCED ALUMINUM COMPOSITE, Materials science & engineering. A, Structural materials: properties, microstructure and processing, 232(1-2), 1997, pp. 1-10
Compression behavior of 15-26V(f)% Saffil(TM) short-fiber reinforced A
l-1.17wt.%Cu alloy metal matrix composites has been determined over a
strain-rate range of approximately 10(-4) to 2 x 10(3) s(-1). The stra
in-rate sensitivity of composite samples at 4% strain, tested parallel
and normal to the plane of reinforcement, was found to be higher than
that of unreinforced alloy in the strain-rate range studied. Quantita
tive analysis of fiber fragment lengths from samples tested to differe
nt strain levels showed that, at small strains, high strain-rate testi
ng induced a relatively shorter fiber fragment length distribution in
the composite compared to quasi-static testing. At quasi-static strain
rates, the fiber strengthening effect was found to increase with incr
easing V-f% and was higher in samples tested parallel to the planar ra
ndom array. The observed anisotropy of the composite at quasi-static s
train rates was also observed to continue into the high strain-rate re
gime. Microscopic observations on composite samples tested quasi-stati
cally and dynamically to a range of strains showed that the major dama
ge process involved during compression testing was fiber breakage foll
owed by the microcracking of the matrix at relatively large strains. F
iber breakage modes were found to be mostly shearing and buckling. (C)
1997 Elsevier Science S.A.