Residual Stresses in Locally Long Fiber Reinforced Aluminum Parts

Abstract

In locally long fiber reinforced aluminum parts two types residual stresses exist. They are the microscopic residual stress between fiber and matrix and the macroscopic residual stress between reinforced and unreinforced zones. The residual stresses between fiber and matrix in γ-Al2O3 long fiber reinforced aluminum alloy Al-6-1-1 were measured with X-ray Diffraction process as well as simulated with FEM method. The results indicated that the residual stresses in both fiber and matrix were distributed very unequally. The maximum tensile residual stress occurred at the boundary in the matrix and the maximum compressive residual stresses occurred near the boundary in the fiber. The macroscopic residual stresses between the reinforced and unreinforced zones were also measured with borehole method as well as simulated with FEM. It was found that the macroscopic residual stresses at most locations in both the reinforced and unreinforced zones were not harmfully high. However in both reinforced and unreinforced zones there were small sub-zones of very large tensile residual stresses.