Transverse tensile and creep modeling of continuously reinforced titanium composites with local debonding

A new, widely applicable model for local interfacial debonding in composite materials is presented. Unlike its direct predecessors, the new model allows debonding to progress via unloading of interfacial stresses even as global loading of the composite continues. The primary advantages of this new model are its accuracy, simplicity, and efficiency. In order to apply the new debonding model to simulate the behavior of composite materials, it was implemented within the generalized method of cells (GMC) micromechanics model for general periodic multi-phased materials. The time- and history-dependent (viscoplastic) transverse tensile and creep behavior of SiC/Ti composites, which are known to be subject to internal fiber–matrix debonding, was then simulated. Results indicate that GMC’s ability to simulate the transverse behavior of titanium matrix composites has been significantly improved by the new debonding model. Further, the present study has highlighted the need for a more accurate time, temperature, and rate dependent constitutive representation of the titanium matrix behavior in order to enable predictions of the composite transverse response, without resorting to recalibration of the debonding model parameters