Effects of strain rate and temperature on compressive strength and fragment size of ZrB2-SiC-graphite composites

The quasi-static (strain rate of 10(-4) s(-1)) and dynamic compression experiments (strain rate of 200-1500 s(-1)) of ZrB2-SiC-graphite composites are conducted at 293 K and 1073 K. The initial compressive strength and Weibull modulus are calculated to handle the discrete quasi-static experimental data. Considering effects of strain rate and temperature, the compressions of ZrB2-SiC graphite composites are investigated. The results show that both compressive strength and fragment size are higher at 1073 K than those at room temperature. The compressive strengths increase with increasing strain rate at room temperature and 1073 K, whereas fragment sizes decrease. Moreover, a micromechanical model is utilized to characterize the effect of strain rate on the compressive strength. The predictions of this micromechanical model are good agreement with the experimental results. Meanwhile, the fragment sizes of dynamic compressive specimens are analyzed through analytical approaches. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.