Experimental and theoretical study of the thermal expansion behavior of aluminium reinforced by continuous ceramic fibers

Abstract

The thermal expansion response of an ALTEX-aluminium continuous fiber reinforced metal matrix composite produced by gas pressure infiltration was measured experimentally by dilatometry. Theoretical predictions for the composite's thermal expansion behavior were made with simple analytical estimates and with a unit cell model employing the Finite Element method. By correlating experimental and computational results, improved data on the fibers' coefficient of thermal expansion were obtained.