On the elastic field of Al/SiC nanocomposite

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the linear elastic behavior of an aluminum matrixnanocomposite reinforced with SiC nanoparticles. Once, a representative volume element was consideredfor the nanocomposite with a cuboidal inclusion. The elastic moduli of the matrix and the inclusion werethe same, but it contained eigenstrain. The stress and the strain fields were obtained for the inclusionand the aluminum by Galerkin vector method. The stress and the strain fields in the inclusion problemwere in a good agreement with the results in the literature. A similar representative volume element wasconsidered for the nanocomposite with a cuboidal inhomogeneity. The elastic moduli of the matrix andthe inhomogeneity were different, but it did not have any eigenstrain. For the calculation of the Eshelbytensor and the elastic fields for the inhomogeneity problem, the equivalent inclusion method (EIM) wasapplied. In the EIM, the uniform and equivalent eigenstrain were considered. The stress and the strainfields within the inhomogeneity and the matrix were obtained. Results showed that the stress and thestrain in the cuboidal inclusion were less than the cuboidal inhomogeneity due to the difference betweenthe matrix and the reinforcement materials.