Abstract
The results of low cycle fatigue experiments on an aluminium-4% copper alloy reinforced with tungsten wires are discussed in terms of the effects of fibre volume fraction and matrix work-hardening properties. The cyclic strain-hardening behaviour of composites containing 0-22 volume% of fibres is compared with normal tensile strain hardening, and fatigue failure under conditions of constant stress range and constant strain range is described. It has been found that a direct comparison between fracture resistances during monotonic and cyclic loading cannot be made, partly because the matrix plastic behaviour changes significantly under fatigue conditions. In normal tensile failure composites with matrices having low work-hardening rates usually have higher fracture toughness than those with higher work-hardening rates. Under cyclic conditions, however, composites with greater capacity for cyclic hardening have better fatigue resistance provided the comparison is made on the usual stress-range (S-N) basis. On the other hand, a Manson-Coffin (strain-range) analysis suggests the reverse. It would not appear possible, on the basis of results from un-notched fatigue test samples, to predict fatigue behaviour unambiguously from the results of fracture toughness tests.
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