The Temperature Dependence of Elastic Nonlinearity in Metal-Matrix Composites

Abstract

Thermal stresses are very important in determining the strength of composites. In metal-matrix composites, these stresses are generated at the matrix-reinforcement interface as a result of the difference in thermal expansion coefficients of matrix and reinforcement during solidification. In order to evaluate these stresses, we studied the effect of temperature on the second- and third-order elastic constants in two metal-matrix composites consisting of the aluminum alloys 8091 and 7064 and silicon carbide particles up to 20% volume fraction. The elastic constants were determined at the temperatures 0, 25 and 55°C using measurements of absolute as well as changes of ultrasonic velocities as a function of applied stress. The values of these constants are used to calculate the acoustic nonlinearity parameters. In both composites, the acoustic nonlinearity parameters increase with the amount of reinforcement, which is opposite to that previously observed in aluminum alloys containing second-phase precipitates. Also, the temperature behavior of the nonlinearity parameters in the composites are opposite to those in the aluminum matrices. These differences in behavior are interpreted as due to the presence of thermal stresses at the matrix-reinforcement interface, and give promise to the possibility of using these parameters in the nondestructive evaluation of these stresses in metal-matrix composites.