Clustering effect on strengthening mechanisms of particulate reinforced composites using X-ray micro-tomography data

In this paper, the strengthening mechanisms contributing to the total strength of particulate reinforced composites have been investigated to clarify the relationship between the microstructure and mechanical properties of these materials. This model simultaneously considers the combined strengthening contributions of dislocation strengthening and matrix ligament size effect, which has been found to accurately describe the particle clustering effect on the mechanical behavior of these materials. This new modeling reveals that the matrix ligament size as a characteristic plays a dominant role in affecting the properties of the composites in the presence of clusters. This characteristic is measured using the ۳D volume images reconstructed from X-ray tomography and compared with computed values using micromechanical modeling. Results indicate there is a good agreement between predicted and experimental values.

Keywords:

Particle clustering , Mechanical behavior , Metal matrix composites , Microstructure analysis , X-ray computed tomography