Issue 51

B. Zaoui et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 51 (2020) 174-188; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.51.14 174 Finite element analysis of the thermomechanical behavior of metal matrix composites (MMC) Zaoui Bouchra , Baghdadi Mohammed, Serier Boualem, Belhouari Mohammed University of Djillali Liabes, Laboratory of Mechanics Physics of Materials (LMPM Laboratory), Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria. zaouibouchra55@yahoo.com , mohbagh0@gmail.com , boualems@yahoo.fr , belhouari@yahoo.com A BSTRACT . In this work the finite element method (FEM) was used to analyze the mechanical behavior of the composite materials subjected to the mechanical loading. This behavior is studied in terms of stress intensity factor variation as a function of the applied stress intensity. The residual stresses induced in the composites, during the elaboration of these composites are taken into consideration in this study. The superimposition of these types of stresses (residuals and commissioning) is simulated here by thermomechanical stresses. The results obtained show that in the vicinity very close to the fiber- matrix interface and under the effect of this loading type, the matrix cracks propagate in modes I, II and III, and far from the interface, in mode I. The propagation kinetics is slowed down by the interface-crack interaction. The effects of the crack size, the orientation and propagation of the crack, commissioning stresses, the elaboration temperature, fiber physical properties, matrix stiffness and thermomechanical stresses have been highlighted in this work. K EYWORDS . Composites; Crack growth; FEM; Residual stresses; Stress Intensity Factor (SIF); I nterface. Citation: Zaoui, B., Baghdadi, M., Serier, B., Belhouari, B., Finite Element Analysis of the thermomechanical Behavior of metal matrix composites (MMC), 5 1 (202 0 ) 174-188. Received: 15.09.2019 Accepted: 22.11.2019 Published: 01.01.2020 Copyright: © 2019 This is an open access article under the terms of the CC-BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. I NTRODUCTION he composite materials are assembled materials, usually two immiscible components whose mechanical properties complement each to other. This design makes it possible to improve the mechanical characteristics (rigidity, lightness, corrosion, etc.) and to cope with increasingly stringent commissioning conditions, to cope with the conditions of commissioning more and more severe. This explains, the increasing use of the composite material in the industrial sector and especially in the aeronautic domain, aerospace domain, maritime domain, automotive domain and civil engineering domain etc. Nevertheless, these materials have a major disadvantage. In fact, during the elaboration process, a residual stress develops during the cooling of the elaboration temperature to ambient temperature. These stresses are generally due to the difference in stiffness materials and the thermal expansion coefficient, between the reinforcing material (fiber) and the matrix, the main constituents of composite materials. T