Abstract
Micromechanics modeling was performed to study the effects of thermal residual stress, weak interphases, TiB2 volume fraction and particle size on the mechanical responses and fracture behaviors of B4C-TiB2 composites. Experimentally observed fracture behaviors including micro-cracking and crack deflection were successfully captured. The weak interphases at B4C-TiB2 boundaries and the thermal residual stress induced during cooling by the large CTE mismatch between B4C and TiB2 were identified as two major factors to promote micro-cracking that caused the enhanced progressive failure behavior. Micro-cracking was enhanced with higher TiB2 volume fraction due to higher fraction of weak interphase and material affected by thermal residual stress. Meanwhile, micro-cracking behaviors exhibited limited change with varying TiB2 particle sizes. This modeling study successfully captured the main fracture behaviors and their trends by varying micro-structures of B4C-TiB2 composites and can potentially aid microstructure design of tougher B4C-TiB2 composites in the future.
Accepted Version (
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Published Version
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