In-situ Fiber Strength Distribution In Nextel 610 Reinforced Aluminum Composites

MetPreg, a composite developed by Touchstone Research Laboratories (Tridelphia, WV), is an aluminum metal matrix composite reinforced by continuous Nextel 610 alumina fibers. The question is, after processing, are the Nextel fibers affected in any way that their strengthening contribution to the composite is reduced? From experimentation and statistical analysis, a strength distribution of pre-processed Nextel 610 fibers is formed and an empirical correlation is developed relating strength to the observed flaw size on the failed single fibers. This correlation is then independently applied to flaw size information gathered from fibers on the fracture surface of MetPreg samples to develop a separate strength distribution of post-processed Nextel 610 fibers. The preand postprocessed distributions are compared to one another to determine the effect, if any, that composite processing has on the strength of Nextel 610 fibers.