Inelastic behaviour of ceramic-matrix composites

Abstract A methodology for the formulation and identification of the constitutive laws of ceramic-matrix composites is summarised. It relies on an anisotropic damage evaluation that accurately separates the effects of the various damage mechanisms on the non-linear behaviour. A mixed approach takes into account the basic strain and damage mechanisms by using a homogenisation method that provides the relationship between the mechanical response and the intensity of damage in the individual modes. That leads to a non-arbitrary choice of internal variables in the macroscopic constitutive relationships. A successive process of prediction/experimental-data confrontation allows the optimal determination of the evolution laws of those internal variables. This methodology is illustrated on various behaviours of various CMCs; several crack arrays, tilted cracks, tensile test, cyclic loading, off-axis solicitation, in 1D SiC–SiC, 2D C–SiC, 2D C/C–SiC ceramic-matrix composites. Predictions of the three-dimensional changes in elasticity and of the inelastic strains are shown to compare favourably with experimental data measured with an ultrasonic method.