A mean-field micromechanical study on thermal-cycling creep of short fiber-reinforced metal matrix composites: Al–Al3Ni eutectic composites

In this study, a unified mean-field micromechanical model was applied to analysis of thermal-cycling creep of short fiber-reinforced metal matrix composites subject to a wide range of external loads from compression to tension. The model considered the rate process of the local mass transfer by diffusion along the fiber/matrix interface. The thermal-cycling creep of the composites can be divided into three groups observed in high compressive stress regime, low compressive and tensile stress regime, and high tensile stress regime based on the micromechanical examination of the deformation mechanism. Numerical and experimental studies were systematically conducted with directionally solidified Al–Al3Ni eutectic composites. These studies demonstrated that even though compressive loads were applied, the elongate creep deformation occurred under given thermal-cycling conditions, and thermal-cycling creep was largely affected by the length of the fiber and temperature profile.