Failure mechanisms in mission-cycled carbon/carbon composites under flexural load at room and elevated temperatures

The response of quasi-isotropic laminates of SiC coated carbon/carbon (C/C) composites under flexural load was studied. Mission-cycled as well as virgin specimens were tested to compare the thermal- and pressure-cycling effects. Variation of flexural strength and stiffness with temperature was investigated to study the load-deflection behaviour and the thermal stability of C/C composites up to 1371 °C. Increase in flexural strength and stiffness were observed with the rise in temperature. A distinct shift in failure modes from compressive to tensile was found with the mission-cycled specimens with the increase in test temperatures, while the failure mode for virgin material was found always on the tensile side. Change in the load-deflection behaviour was examined and increase in non-linearity of the stress-strain behaviour with the mission cycling was observed. Although the number of test specimens was few, Weibull characterization on the flexure data was performed to study the variation of Weibull modulii and the characteristic lives. Failed, as well as untested, specimens were C-scanned to identify the location and the extent of the damaged zone. Post-failure analyses through optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were performed to study the damage growth and failure mechanisms. Degradation and separation of the porous matrix structure, localized damage of the reinforcing fibres in the transverse direction, complete fibre bundle failure in the mission-cycled specimens, and delamination near the loading zone were observed.     

Rheological behaviour of SiC (particulate)-borosilicate composites at elevated temperatures

Journal of Materials Science Letters -     

Tensile creep behavior of a SiC-fiber/SiC composite at elevated temperatures

The tensile creep behavior of a SiC-fiber-reinforced SiC composite has been investigated in argon at temperatures of 1000–1300°C. The apparent stress exponents for creep of the composite and the apparent activation energies for creep increase with decrease in stress. The threshold stress approach can be used to treat the data. Creep of the CVI–SiC matrix controls the creep of the composite. The relationship between creep rate and the time to rupture can be described by the Monkman–Grant equation which provides a method of life prediction. The Larson–Miller parameter can also be used for creep-life prediction of the composite when the appropriate constant is selected.     

Deformability of a SiCw/6061Al composite during high strain rate compression at elevated temperatures

The deformability of SiCw/6061Al composite during high strain rate compression has been investigated at elevated temperatures around the solidus of the matrix alloy. The results show that the maximum deformability was obtained at 580°C which is near the solidus of the matrix. Analysis of the results indicates that the composites deformed at 580°C have the largest strain rate sensitivity (m value) and the lowest threshold stress, both of which lead to the maximum deformability. Microstructure observation shows that microcracks were formed at the interfaces in the composites deformed at 540°C and 620°C, whereas, in the composite deformed at 580°C, microcracks were rarely found because of the low stress concentration at the interfaces due to the presence of a small amount of liquid. It is suggested that the presence of an adequate amount of liquid phase gives rise to the effective accommodation required for grain boundary sliding for the composite, and thus directly affects the deformability of SiCw/6061Al composite.     

Compressive and flexural behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced PPS composites at elevated temperature

ABSTRACT

The effect of temperature on the mechanical behavior of carbon fiber reinforced polyphenylenesulfide (PPS) composites was investigated by compressive and flexural tests from ambient temperature up to 150°C. The failure morphologies of the C/PPS composites were analyzed to identify the variation of failure modes. Related results showed that the mechanical behavior of C/PPS composites decreased severely with the increase of temperature due to the softening of matrix. The PPS resin film tensile test was carried out and the PPS matrix behavior was recognized as the main factor to dominate the mechanical behavior of composites under compressive/flexural loading at elevated temperatures. It can be found that there was an approximate linear relationship between the compression properties of C/PPS composites and the PPS matrix. The dependence of failure modes of composites on temperatures was closely related to the mechanical behavior of PPS matrix.     

Microstructure and properties of SiCw/6061 aluminium alloy composites after compression at temperatures around solidus of matrix

Abstract

The effect of compressive deformation at temperatures around the solidus of the matrix on the microstructure and properties of SiC_w/6061 aluminium alloy composites was investigated. It was found that the temperature, strain rate, and amount of deformation affect whisker distribution and breakage, densification and uniformity of composites, and SiC_w/matrix alloy interfacial bonding. The microstructural evolution due to compression affects the properties of the composites, which is considered to be the most important aspect for evaluating high temperature plastic forming of the composites. The optimum parameters for compressive deformation were determined by analysing the microstructure and the properties of the composites.     

Effects of microstructure on flexural strength of biomorphic C/SiC composites

Biomorphic C/SiC composites were fabricated from different kinds of wood by liquid silicon infiltration (LSI) following a two-step process. In the first-step, the wood is converted into carbon preforms by pyrolysis in a nitrogen atmosphere. The carbon preforms are then infiltrated by silicon melt at 1,560°C under vacuum to fabricate C/SiC composites. The mechanical properties of the C/SiC composites were characterized by flexural tests at ambient temperature, 1,000, and 1,300°C, and the relationship between mechanical properties and microstructure was analyzed. The flexural strength of the biomorphic composites was strongly dependent on the properties of the carbon preforms and the degree of silicon infiltration. The flexural strength increased with increasing SiC content and bulk density of composite, and with decreasing porosity in the C/SiC composite. An analysis of fractographs of fractured C/SiC composites showed a cleavage type fracture, indicating brittle fracture behavior.     

Failure and strength of 2D-C/SiC composite under in-plane shear loading at elevated temperatures

In-plane shear strength (IPSS) of a two-dimensional carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide composite (C/SiC) was measured by compression of double-notched specimens (DNS) from room temperature to 1873 K. The result indicates that the compression of DNS is an effective method to measure IPSS of C/SiC. A significant dependence of IPSS on temperature was found for C/SiC. IPSS increases with increasing temperature up to 1273 K, and then decreases when the temperature was higher. The main failure modes under the shear loading contain matrix cracking, delamination and pullout of fibers and fiber bundles.     

Mechanical characterization of steel/CFRP double strap joints at elevated temperatures

This paper examines the mechanical performance of steel/CFRP adhesively-bonded double strap joints at elevated temperatures around the glass transition temperature (T_g, 42 °C) of the adhesive. A series of joints with different bond lengths were tested to failure at temperatures between 20 °C and 60 °C. It was found that the joint failure mode changed from adherend failure to debonding failure as the temperature approached T_g. In addition, the ultimate load and joint stiffness decreased significantly at temperatures near to and greater than T_g, while the effective bond length increased with temperature. Based on the ultimate load prediction model developed by Hart-Smith for double lap joints and kinetic modelling of the mechanical degradation of the adhesive, a mechanism-based model is proposed to describe the change of effective bond length, stiffness and strength degradation for steel/CFRP double strap joints at elevated temperatures. The modelling results were validated by the corresponding experimental measurements.     

Research into mechanical properties of reaction-bonded SiC composites at cryogenic temperatures

The mechanical properties of reaction-bonded silicon carbide (RBSC) composites at cryogenic temperatures have been reported for the first time. The results show that the flexural strength and fracture toughness increase from 277.93 ± 23.21 MPa to 396.74 ± 52.74 MPa and from 3.69 ± 0.45 MPa·m^1/2 to 4.98 ± 0.53 MPa·m^1/2 as the temperature decreases from 293 K to 77 K, respectively. The XRD analysis of the phase composition reveals that there is no phase transformation in the composites at cryogenic temperatures, indicating cryogenic mechanical properties are independent of phase composition. The enhancement of mechanical properties at 77 K over room temperature could be explained by the transition of fracture mode from predominant transgranular fracture to intergranular fracture and stronger resistance to crack propagation resulting from higher residual stress at 77 K. The above results demonstrate that such composites do not undergo similar deteriorations in the fracture toughness as other materials (some kinds of metals and polymers), so it is believed that such composites could be a potential material applied in cryogenic field.     

Time-dependent micromechanical behavior in graphite/epoxy composites under constant load at elevated temperatures

Time dependent deformation at the individual fiber level was investigated in graphite fiber/epoxy composites at elevated temperatures using micro Raman spectroscopy (MRS) and a time dependent shear-lag based single fiber composite model (SFM). The modeling parameters were obtained from the creep response of the unfilled epoxy at several stress levels and at temperatures up to 80°C. An effective fiber spacing was used in the model predictions to account for the radial decay of the interfacial shear stress from the fiber surface. Good agreement was observed between the model predictions and MRS data when the temperature dependence of _p (the shear stress in the matrix yielded zone) and _c (the critical shear strain for the onset of inelasticity) were taken into account. Overall, the inelastic length growing from the fiber fractures increases with temperature and time. This leads to a wider stress concentration profile in the neighboring intact fibers, which increases the chance of failure in the intact fibers and facilitates the creep-rupture process of the composite.     

Fracture behaviours of epoxy nanocomposites with nano-silica at low and elevated temperatures

An investigation was conducted to characterize fracture behaviours of nano-silica modified epoxies at low and elevated temperatures. A nano-silica dispersed epoxy (Nanopox XP 22/0516, Hanse-Chemie, Germany) with 40 wt% silica nano-particles was used as modifier to toughen an epoxy resin, Araldite F (Bisphenol A based, Ciba-Geigy). Fracture toughness and other mechanical properties were measured using standard compact tension (CT), tensile and flexural specimens to elaborate the effects of nano-silica particles on fracture behaviours of epoxy nanocomposites at different temperatures, −50, 0, 23, 50 and 70 °C. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was utilized to define the glass transition temperature (T _g) upon the addition of different amounts of nano-silica particles. Fracture toughness of the nano-silica modified epoxies was clearly increased at 23 °C and 50 °C, but the role of nano-silica particles in enhancing the fracture toughness became less pronounced at 0 °C and −50 °C and disappeared at 70 °C.     

Elastic-plastic and failure properties of a unidirectional carbon/PMR-15 composite at room and elevated temperatures

A series of off-axis tensile tests at room and elevated temperatures have been conducted up to 316°C (600°F) to determine the elastic and plastic properties of a unidirectional carbon/PMR15 composite as a function of temperature. The transverse tensile and shear strengths of the composite as a function of temperature have also been determined. The effect of the specimen preparation process (type of machining) on the strength properties of the composite has also been evaluated. It has been shown that elastic (with the exception of Poisson ratios ν₁₂ and ν₂₁), plastic, and strength properties of the composite are significantly affected by elevated temperatures. It has also been demonstrated that the quality of machining can noticeably influence the normal and shear strength data at room and elevated temperatures. Even if the quality of machining is very high, failure of the specimens can occur either in the gage or grip sections. At room temperature, all specimens failed in the grip areas influencing the transverse tensile and shear strength measurements. However, the type of specimen failure does not noticeably affect the strength data at elevated temperatures. The transverse tensile and shear strength properties of the composite at room temperature could only be estimated by extrapolating the normal and shear strength vs temperature curves to room temperature.     

Sliding wear behaviour of Al 6063/TiB2 in situ composites at elevated temperatures

A low cost system of Al 6063 ? xTiB₂ (x = 0, 5, 10 wt.%) in situ metal matrix composites (MMCs) were prepared by the reaction mixture of K₂TiF₆ and KBF₄ with molten alloy. These in situ prepared composites were characterized by using scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, and microhardness analysis. The dry sliding wear behaviour of the prepared composite was investigated by using a Pin on Disc method at different applied loads of 9.8, 19.6 and 29.4 N for various temperatures (100, 200 and 300 °C). The study at room temperature was also carried out for comparison purpose. The results indicate that the wear rate decreases with the increase in the weight percentage of TiB₂, while it increases with the increase in the applied load.     

Fatigue behavior of rigid polymeric materials and composites at room and elevated temperature

In order to characterize the fatigue behavior of rigid polymeric materials, various thermoplastics and glassfiber reinforced plastics (thermoplastics and thermosets) were tested under alternating plane bending stresses at room (20°C) and elevated (50°C) temperatures. Increase in surface temperature and decrease in flexural rigidity of specimens were also measured during the fatigue testing. The results revealed that

1. Rigid polymeric materials can be classified into 3 groups according to their temperature rise characteristics (ΔT) and rigidity decrease (ΔE) during fatigue testing as follows: Group I. lower ΔT and ΔE: for unreinforced thermoplastics and bulk molding compound. Group II. higher ΔT and ΔE: for glassfiber reinforced thermoplastics and thermosets. Group III. higher ΔT and ΔE: for unreinforced thermoplastics.
2. Fatigue strengths of 10⁷ cycles of these materials of groups I～III are well correlated with their elastic moduli, respectively.