3-DIMENSIONAL FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF PLASTIC-DEFORMATION IN A WHISKER-REINFORCED METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE

THREE-DIMENSIONAL finite element calculations have been performed to predict quantitatively the tensile behavior of a metal matrix composite reinforced with aligned short fibers. Two different periodic arrangements of the whiskers in the matrix were modelled: one with neighboring fibers directly adjacent to one another, and the other with neighboring fibers shifted relative to one another. The analysis examines the strengthening effect of the whiskers under macroscopic loads of uniaxial tension in the fiber direction and uniaxial tension in a direction perpendicular to the fibers. The purpose of the analysis is to determine the fiber arrangement that best represents the response of an actual composite. When the whiskers are assumed elastic and arranged so that they overlap each other, the predicted stress-strain response of the composite agrees well with published experimental measurements. The finite element results also show that the material's load carrying capacity in a direction transverse to the fibers is significantly lower than its capacity in the fiber direction.