Micromechanical analysis of internal stress development during single-fibre fragmentation testing of Ti/SiCf Original Research Article

An axisymmetric finite element model of a single fibre composite tensile specimen having a Ti–6Al–4V matrix reinforced with one SCS6 SiC fibre has been constructed. The sliding of the fibre is modelled using a constant critical shear stress and fibre fragmentation introduced using the element removal technique. In this way, the fibre and matrix strains have been computed as the fibre fractures progressively. The results are compared to synchrotron X-ray strain scanning measurements made in-situ during the test and critical interfacial parameters are extracted. Good agreement is found between numerical and experimental results based on a critical shear stress of 200 MPa for loading and unloading including both forward and reverse slip.