The effects of particle clustering on the mechanical behavior of particle reinforced composites

Abstract

Particle clustering is thought to be one of the detrimental factors to the performance of particle reinforced composites. In this paper, the effects of particle clustering on the macroscopic mechanical behavior and the micromechanics of particle-reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) were predicted theoretically by using the equivalent inclusion method. Two types of particle clustering were examined. The calculation results are focused on the effects of clustering on (1) the macroscopic behavior of the composite, (2) stress concentration, and (3) void nucleation.