STRUCTURAL APPROACH TO THE YIELD STRENGTH OF 2-PHASE ALLOYS WITH COARSE MICROSTRUCTURES

The role of structural phase continuity in the yeilding of two-phase alloys is examined. A rule of mixtures based on the contiguity parameter is applied to three types of microstructures: (1) dispersed hard particles in a continuous soft ductile matrix; (2) a mixture of two continuous phases; (3) clusters of hard particles embedded in a continuous soft ductile matrix. Shear lag analysis is used to estimate roughly the load transfer from soft matrix to hard particle clusters as a function of the aspect ratio L (1-C) l where L is the mean cluster caliper length, C is the contiguity parameter and l is the mean particle intercept length of the hard phase. © 1979.