2007 Volume 48 Issue 2 Pages 171-177
The effect of particle clustering distribution on the damage accumulation and the deformation behavior is investigated in the particle reinforced metal-matrix composites. The clustering tendency of the Al-10 vol%SiC composite is evaluated by the normalized 2-dimensional local number density (LND2D) of the particle. It is found that the uniform material having a spatial distribution close to the random distribution has higher flow stress and larger elongation. The particle/matrix delamination is easy to occur preferentially at the particles of larger size in the more clustered regions in tensile deformation. Composites with lower clustering tendency have larger strain hardening capacity than those with more clustering one.
