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Tensile-strength characterization of a metal-matrix composite with circular holes. Master's thesis

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5832138

Static tensile testing conducted at room temperature and 650 C shows notch sensitivity for a quasi-isotropic lay-up of a titanium alloy metal matrix composite. The specific material used was SCS-6/Beta 21S. Some unnotched specimens were tested and then the diameter-to-width ratio was varied from 0.1 to 0.4. The room temperature unnotched strength is 840 MPa, and the strength falls to less than half this value at 650 C. The off-axis plies of the (0, + or - 45, 90)s lay-up exhibit debonding of the fibers from the matrix at only ten percent of failure stress. This debonding is shown with acetate replicas and acoustic emission. By modeling the debonded plies with the Halpin-Tsai equations, a modulus is calculated for the debonded material which correlates very well with the experimental modulus. A fiber dominated failure exists at both temperatures, but the fiber pullout exists only at 650 C. Etching away the matrix from the 0 fibers showed a small area near the hole where fibers were damaged. The size of this damage zone correlated very well with the critical distance for the Whitney-Nuismer Point Stress failure prediction method.

Research Organization:
Air Force Inst. of Tech., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (United States). School of Engineering
OSTI ID:
5832138
Report Number(s):
AD-A-243894/3/XAB
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English