Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Tensile Properties of SiC Particle-Reinforced Composites

In this study, experiments and finite element modeling (FEM) are performed to study the tensile mechanical properties of SiC particle-reinforced 6061 Al-matrix composites (SiC_p/6061Al) at various volume fractions (VFs) of SiC_p. The Young's modulus, yield strength, and tensile strength of SiC_p/6061Al display an overall upward trend with the increment of the VF of SiC_p. The fracture analysis results demonstrate that the fracture of SiC_p/6061Al is a hybrid of matrix fracture, reinforcement fracture, and interface debonding. An algorithm is developed to construct the mesostructure of particle-reinforced composites, based on the random sequential absorption algorithm. The VFs of the particles of the representative volume element (RVE) model constructed using the novel algorithm are as high as 42%. The tensile mechanical properties of SiC_p/6061Al are predicted by replacing the irregular particle reinforcements in SiC_p/6061Al with spherical particles in the RVE model. Comparisons reveal that the stress–strain curves obtained via experiment and FEM are highly consistent in the elastic-plastic stage, which verifies the effectiveness and rationality of the novel algorithm.