Experimental study of the rate-sensitivity of unidirectional-fiber-reinforced metal–matrix composite wires and the establishment of a dynamic constitutive equation

Abstract In the preset paper, tensile impact tests on T300/Al composite wires and M40J/Al composite wires have been carried out by a custom-designed tensile impact apparatus and quasi-static tensile tests have been performed on the MTS-810 testing apparatus. The stress/strain curves of the composite wires in the strain rate range from 0.001 to 1300 s −1 have been obtained. The experimental results show that both T300/Al and M40J/Al are rate-sensitive materials, i.e. the strengths and failure strains of the composite wires are dependent on strain rate. The rate sensitivity of the composite wires is mainly caused by the rate sensitivity of the aluminium matrix, and carbon fiber can be regarded as a rate-insensitive material. On the basis of these experimental results and the coated-fiber-bundles model, an elastic–plastic coated-fiber-bundles model and a one-dimensional damage constitutive equation for the composite wires have been established. The mechanical parameters in the constitutive equation of the composites wires and their relationship with strain rate are obtained from experimental results by statistical analysis. The simulated stress/strain curves from the model are in good agreement with the test data.