CHARACTERIZATION OF A C-AL METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE PRECURSOR

The quality of metal matrix composites made by hot pressing of prepreg layers mainly depends on the quality of the precursor. Mechanical and chemical characterization of the precursor is therefore an essential task in the development process. This work concentrates on the mechanical characterization of a C-Al prepreg in order to establish how the strength of fibres is degraded by reaction with aluminium during hot pressing. The prepreg undergoes an annealing treatment, simulating temperature and atmosphere conditions of composite processing. Single fibres are taken and tested in tension. A single Weibull distribution function is used to discuss the strength distributions. Possibilities and limits of this model are reviewed.