Interface Debonding and Fiber Cracking in Brittle Matrix Composites

Analyses of debonding along interfaces and of the kinking of interface cracks into a fiber have been used to define the role of debonding in fiber-reinforced, brittle matrix composites. The results reveal that, for fibers aligned with the tensile stress axis, debonding requires an interface fracture energy, Γ_i, less than about one-fourth that for the fiber, Γ_f. Further-more, once this condition is satisfied, it is shown that fiber failure does not normally occur by deflection of the debond through the fiber. Instead, fiber failure is governed by weakest-link statistics. The debonding of fibers inclined to the stress axis occurs more readily, such that debonds at acutely inclined fibers can deflect into the fiber, whereupon the failure of fibers is dominated by their toughness.