Abstract
The practical application of FRM to the structural components requests us to investigate the residual strength of the composites after cyclic loading. The tensile test of SiC/Al-Alloy composites wires after cyclic loading was carried out, and the effect of number of cycles and stress amplitude on the residual strength and its distribution was examined. The residual strength decreased about six percent and the scatter slightly increased at the initial one cycle of loading then these two values kept constant up to about one hundred cycles, with the stress amplitude of eighty percent of the tensile strength. When the stress amplitude increased, the residual strength decreased and the scatter increased. Applying the proof test to the composites, it was found that the proof testing stress did not always guarantee the proof stress of the composites. A method to revise the proof stress was newly proposed by using the experimental data of the residual strength taking account of the decrement of the strength by the proof test.
