Mesomechanical Strength Model of Nano-Fibers Composite Ceramics

Recent experiment showed that nano-fibers composite ceramics, fabricated through SHS process, can acquire high toughening and strengthening. Composite ceramics are mainly composed of fiber eutectic structures with random orientation, in which nanometer sized zirconia fibers are dispersed within the alumina matrix. First, it can be visualized that tensile force is transmitted from the matrix to the nano-fiber by means of shear stress that develop along the fiber- matrix interface. Then the mesomechanical strength model of the fiber eutectic structure is built. The longitudinal tensile stress of the fiber eutectic structure and shear stress on the surface of the fiber eutectic structure are obtained. They related to the volume fraction and slenderness ratio of the nano-fibers, and external strain of the fiber eutectic structure. Then considering random orientation of the fiber eutectic structure, as composite ceramics is subjected to tensile stress, external strain of the fiber eutectic structure can be determined. Finally, theoretical expression for the strength prediction of composite ceramics is gotten.