Interphase region effect on the biaxial yielding envelope of SiC fiber-reinforced Ti matrix composites

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to investigate the coupled effects of interphase and thermal residual stress on the biaxial initial yield surfaces of metal matrix composites using the simplified unit cell micromechanical model. The representative volume element of the composite consists of three phases, including unidirectional silicon carbide (SiC) fiber, titanium (Ti) matrix, and the interphase region between the fiber and matrix. It is found that the interphase slightly affects the initial yield surfaces of metal matrix composites without thermal residual stress. However, the results reveal that as the thermal residual stress is considered in the micromechanical modeling, the effect of interphase on the response of metal matrix composites becomes much more significant. The effects of the SiC volume fraction, interphase parameters including thickness and material properties on the yielding behavior of the metal matrix composites are examined. To demonstrate the validity of the model, comparisons are carried out between the results of the present model and other micromechanical methods as well as experiment. The extracted results could be useful to guide the modeling and design of a wide range of multiphase metal matrix composites.