Effect of porosity on the interface behavior of an Al2O3-aluminum composite: A molecular dynamics study

CR Dandekar and YC Shin, COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 71, 350-356 (2011).

DOI: 10.1016/j.compscitech.2010.11.029

Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to study the effect of porosity and temperature on a ductile-brittle interface under tensile and shear loadings. Traditionally the interface is characterized by a cohesive zone model (CZM) with the traction-separation law assumed or parameterized through experiments, where the experimental determination of the shape of the CZM has proven to be difficult. In this study a traction-separation law is thus obtained for an alumina-aluminum composite system by conducting molecular dynamics simulations. A statistical approach is suggested to characterize the cohesive strength in the parameterized traction-separation law via the Weibull distribution, which consequently governs the interface behavior of the composite. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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