FINITE-ELEMENT MODELING OF THE PARTICLE CLUSTERING EFFECT IN A POWDER-METALLURGY-PROCESSED CERAMIC-PARTICLE-REINFORCED METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE ON ITS MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

A new numerical method is proposed to predict the effect of particle clustering on grain boundaries in a ceramic-particle-reinforced metal matrix composite on its mechanical properties, and micromechanical finite-element simulation of stress-strain responses in composites with random and clustered arrangements of ceramic particles are carried out. A particular material modeled and analyzed is a TiC-particle-reinforced Al matrix composite processed by powder metallurgy. A representative volume element of a composite microstructure with 5 vol.% TiC is reconstructed based on the tetrakaidecahedral grain boundary structure by using a modified random sequential adsorption. The model proposed in this study accurately represents the stress concentrations and particle-particle interactions during deformation of the powder-metallurgy-processed composite. A comparison with the random-arrangement model shows that the present numerical approach is more accurate in simulating the behavior of the composite material.