Atomistic simulation on mechanical behaviors of Al/SiC nanocomposites

Abstract

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out to study the mechanical properties of co-continuous Al/SiC nanocomposites under tensile loading. Three cases of different models were implemented to investigate the influence of volume fraction (Vf) of SiC, thickness of SiC skeletons and shape of Al nanowire on the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. It is found that the ultimate strength and Young's modulus of nanocomposites increase nonlinearly with the Vf of SiC, whereas the limit strains decrease with the increasing Vf of SiC. The Young's modulus obtained by MD simulations are in good agreement with the prediction by micromechanics methods and experimental results. In addition, the thickness of SiC skeletons and the shape of Al nanowire have a significant impact on the mechanical behaviors of co-continuous Al-SiC nanocomposites. This study on the mechanical properties of co-continuous Al-SiC nanocomposites will be helpful to further understanding the mechanical behaviors of the metal/ceramics co-continuous composites.