Role of interfacial and matrix creep during thermal cycling of continuous fiber reinforced metal-matrix composites

A uni-dimensional micro-mechanical model for thermal cycling of continuous fiber reinforced metal-matrix composites is developed. The model treats the fiber and matrix as thermo-elastic and thermo-elasto-plastic-creeping solids, respectively, and allows the operation of multiple matrix creep mechanisms at various stages of deformation through the use of unified creep laws. It also incorporates the effect of interfacial sliding by an interface-diffusion-controlled diffusional creep mechanism proposed earlier (Funn and Dutta, Acta mater., 1999, 47, 149). The results of thermal cycling simulations based on a graphite fiber reinforced pure aluminum-matrix composite were compared with experimental data on a P100 graphite-6061 Al composite. The model successfully captured all the important features of the observed strain responses of the composite for different experimental conditions, such as the observed heating/cooling rate dependence, strain hysteresis, residual permanent strain at the end of a cycle, as well as both intrusion and protrusion of the fiber-ends relative to the matrix at the completion of cycling. The analysis showed that the dominant deformation mechanism operative in the matrix changes continually during thermal cycling due to continuous stress and temperature revision. Based on these results, a framework for the construction of a transient deformation mechanism map for thermal excursions of continuous fiber composites is proposed. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of Acta Metallurgica Inc.