Effects of interfacial debonding on the transverse loading behaviour of continuous fibre-reinforced metal matrix composites

Abstract The current study aims at investigating two issues seriously affecting the transverse loading behaviour of unidirectionally fibre-reinforced metal matrix composites: (1) the effect of thermally induced residual stresses due to a cooling down from processing temperature and (2) the interaction between inelastic matrix deformation and interfacial debonding at the fibre–matrix interface. The unit cell method in combination with the nonlinear finite element technique enhanced by a sophisticated viscoplastic material model and a cohesive zone model for the interface is employed to investigate these influences.