Borosilicate glass matrix composites reinforced with short metal fibres

The reinforcement of a borosilicate glass with Hastelloy X short fibres is discussed. A fabrication process consisting of wet mixing of the glass powder and the metallic fibres and hot pressing of the mixtures was developed. Composites containing 15 vol.% fibres homogeneously distributed in a near fully dense glass matrix were obtained. Both Young's modulus and fracture strength increased with increasing volume fraction of fibres. The experimental values for the Young's modulus are in agreement with theoretical predictions. No fibre pull-out during fracture was detected and there is a good interfacial bond. By means of a rule-of-mixture calculation for the fracture energy, a five-fold increase in fracture toughness for composites containing 15 vol.% fibres can be predicted