Fatigue and Fracture of Al/SiC Metal Matrix Composite Material for Gun Tube Applications

摘要

Continuous fiber A1/SiC metal matrix composite material has been subjected to a series of preliminary mechanical tests. Fracture toughness in the longitudinal direction is around 40 ksi (sq root of in), and in the transverse direction around 20 ksi (sq root of in). The material appears to be quite resistant to fatigue crack growth, but prone to delamination in both static and cyclic loading. Additional study of the material is recommended.