Abstract
Failure mechanisms were studied under the microscope in a crossply silicon carbide/glass-ceramiccomposite under axial tensile loading. Failure initiation takes place in the 90° layer. It takes the form of radial matrix cracks around the fibers, followed by interfacial cracks, which in turn coalesce into transverse macrocracks. These transverse macrocracks in the 90° layer reach a characteristic saturation crack density with a minimum crack spacing of the order of the layer thickness. Subsequently, transverse matrix cracks are generated in the 0° layer, increasing in density up to a minimum crack spacing of the order of eight fiber diameters. This stage of failure is accompanied by fiber-matrix debonding and some fiber-failures in the 0° layer. In the third stage of damage development, the macrocracks of the 90dlayer branch off and connect with the 0° layer cracks in a characteristic "delta" pattern. This is finally followed by delamination and additional cracking in the 90° layer prior to ultimate failure. The various failure mechanisms and their interactions were discussed and compared with predictions of prior experimental and analytical studies of unidirectional and crossply composites.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 341-355 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | International Journal of Solids and Structures |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 3-4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1995 |
Funding
Acknowledgement--The work described here was sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). We are grateful to Dr Walter F. Jones of the AFOSR for his encouragement and cooperation ; to Mr David Larsen of Coming Glass Works for supplying material ; to Mrs Yolande Mallian for typing the manuscript ; and Mr J. J. Luo and Dr C. L. Tsai for their assistance with the figures.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Modeling and Simulation
- General Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering
- Applied Mathematics