The acoustoelastic measurement of elastic constants in alumina/aluminum metal matrix composites

In this study, acoustoelastic testing is performed on alumina-reinforced aluminum 6061 alloy metal matrix composites. The MMCs consist of an aluminum 6061 matrix containing 0, 10, and 20 volume percentage alumina particulate reinforcements. Since the matrix and reinforcement have such disparate moduli, the second-order elastic constants of the composite should vary with the amount of reinforcement. In addition, the residual stresses that have developed during processing should have a significant effect on higher-order elastic constants. Bulk properties like Young`s and shear modulus are measured, as well as the higher-order elastic constants in an effort to monitor variations as a function of reinforcement.