Elastic Behaviour of Spherical Particles Reinforced Metal-Matrix Composites

Abstract

Current technology provides means of fabrication of spherical micro-particles, either hollow or compact, for all engineering materials. Such spherical particles can be further embedded into another material to build-up either random dispersions or close-packed arrays, according to the production route and the degree of anisotropy intended for the ultimate composite material. In this study, a simple analytical formula for the composite stiffness is derived from an early micromechanics model, to describe the actual reinforcement of ductile matrices by a random dispersion of uniform spherical ceramic particles. Predictions from this model are checked against some other relevant models, and specific features arising from its theoretical derivation are pointed out.