Damage in Particulate Composites with Hard Particles Embedded in a Soft Matrix.

摘要

Damage evolution in a particulate composite around a notch tip was studied. The composite had hard and stiff particles embedded in a soft and weak matrix like a rubber material. The major damage modes were the interface debonding called dewetting and the resulting matrix cracking because the particles were much stronger than the matrix. A numerical modeling and simulation of such damage was conducted using the micro/macro-approach. This technique combined micro-level analysis and macro-level analysis. Damage was described at the micro-level using a damage theory. Damage initiation and growth at a circular notch tip were predicted from the numerical study, and their results were compared with experimental data. Both results compared very well.