Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of a Quasi-lsotropic SCS-6/Ti-15-3 Metal Matrix Composite

Abstract

The response of a quasi-isotropic laminate of metal matrix composite, SCS-6/Ti-15-3 in a thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) environment was investigated. To achieve this, three sets of fatigue tests were conducted: 1) in-phase TMF (IP-TMF), 2) out-of-phase TMF (OP-TMF), and 3) isothermal fatigue (IF). The fatigue response was dependent on the test condition and the maximum stress level during cycling. The IF, IP-TMF, and OP-TMF conditions yielded shortest fatigue life at higher, intermediate and lower stress levels, respectively. Examination of the failure mode through the variation of strain or modulus during cycling, and post-mortem microscopic evaluation revealed that it was dependent on the fatigue condition and applied stress level. Higher stresses, mostly with IP-TMF and IF conditions, produced a primarily fiber dominated failure. Lower stresses, mostly with the OP-TMF condition, produced a matrix dominated failure. Also, an empirical model based on the observed damage mechanisms was developed to represent the fatigue lives for the three conditions examined here.