Abstract
The fracture behavior of boron nitride (BN) composites reinforced with several types of carbon and ceramic fibers has been examined. Fiber properties and fiber/matrix interface characteristics were found to control the mechanical strength and toughness of the composites. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated preferential orientation of the BN matrix parallel to the fiber surfaces. Auger electron spectroscopy was then used to examine the fiber/matrix interface and locate the path of interface debonding. Single-fiber push-out experiments were used to quantify the mechanical properties of the fiber/matrix interface. The bulk composite fracture properties were consistent with current understanding in that a lower interfacial toughness was found to enhance fiber pull-out and increase the composite toughness. Matrix abrasion during fiber sliding had a significant effect on the sliding behavior of the fibers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 967-975 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Composites Science and Technology |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1996 |
Funding
The authors wish to thank Dong-Pyo Kim for his assistancew ith compositef abrication,Aaron Saak for assistancew ith sample preparation, Nancy Finnegan for assistingin the surface analysis,a nd Laura Reister for nanoindenter examinations.V aluable discussions with Gordon Hsueh, Ron Kerans, Paul Jero, and Tom Mackin are also gratefully acknowledged.R esearch was performed with financial support provided by NSF (DMR 9411757)T. EM and Auger investigations were supported by the US Department of Energy, Materials Sciences Division, under Grant No. DE-FG02-91ER45439. Micro-indentation and AFM analysesw ere sponsored by the US Department of
Keywords
- Boron nitride
- Carbon/carbon composites
- Composites
- Interfaces