Relationship Between Gage Length and Tensile Strength of Metal Matrix Composites Wires

Designers attempting to use graphite-reinforced aluminum or magnesium are faced with the dilemma of deciding what values of tensile strength can be reliably used. This is true since there is a tremendous variation in strength data found in technical literature. This research attempts to explain some of these variations. Samples of each composite were cut and bonded to braided glass sleeves for tensile testing. The data reveals an inverse relationship between specimen length and strength of graphite/ magnesium, but no relationship was found between specimen length and strength of graphite/aluminum.