Elastic constant matrix measurement of SiCp reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites

In order to reveal the relationship between SiCp volume content and mechanical property of SiCp reinforced aluminum metal-matrix composites (MMC) fabricated by powder metallurgy, the elastic constant matrix of the standard samples with different SiCp volume content were measured with elastic wave method. The relationship between the velocities of ultrasonic waves travelled in the material and the elastic constant matrix was deduced with Christoffel equation in transverse isotropy model. The basic principle of velocity measurement of quasi-longitudinal waves and quasi-transverse waves with the oblique incidence immersion method was introduced. The experiments based on the above mentioned principle and method were carried out and the elastic constant matrixes of the standard samples were calculated out. The results show that the mechanical property of material in the extrusion direction is better than the other directions, and with the increasing of SiCp content, the elastic constant rises and the intensity of the material enhances.