Analysis of anisotropy in elastic constants of SiCp/2124 Al metal matrix composites

Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy was applied to measure the elastic constants of SiCp/2124 Al metal matrix composites using the initial estimates of elastic moduli based on the Mori-Tanaka model. The simple and useful parameter of effective aspect ratio was used to calculate the effective elastic constants considering the shape and orientation of the reinforcement. Results showed that as the volume fraction of SiC particulate increased, the elastic stiffnesses showed a linear increase and the Poisson's ratio decreased. The increase in particle size caused a slight decrease in Young's modulus due to the increase in interfacial area and dislocation density.