A Combined Experimental and Numerical Technique to Estimate Interfacial Bond Strength in MMC-Encapsulated Ceramic Systems

Abstract : Design and simulation of lightweight composite vehicle armors require mechanical characterization and quantification of the interfacial bond strength between metallic and ceramic components. This report presents a combined numerical and experimental technique to estimate the interfacial strength parameters of a ceramic tile encapsulated by a metal matrix composite. Numerical simulations are used to design an experiment that uses a spherical indenter to introduce shear stresses and cause delamination along the interface without fracturing the underlying ceramic. Indentation experiments are conducted, and the area of the delamination zone observed by post-test c-scan is correlated with parametric simulation results to determine the cohesive zone strength and failure parameters of the interface.