Anisotropic damage of alumina/alumina CFCCs under long term high temperature exposure: Investigations by ultrasonic stiffness measurements and quasi-static tests

Abstract The present work deals with the development of anisotropic damage in alumina/alumina continuous fiber ceramic composites (CFCCs). The composites were isothermally exposed to a corrosive/high temperature environment at 1100°C, which simulates the working conditions of a gas turbine. Stiffness matrix components and strength were experimentally defined as a function of exposure duration by means of ultrasonic stiffness measurements and quasi-static tensile tests. In order to determine the stiffness matrix components, a new ultrasonic stiffness characterisation technique was employed. According to this method, the through transmission phase velocities are measured using a custom built immersion set-up. The experimental data are subsequently used in order to solve the inverse scattering problem and reconstruct the stiffness matrix of the composite at successive thermal exposure levels. The stiffness matrix of the composite was assumed to be orthotropic. Damage functions were formulated to describe the high temperature/corrosive exposure effect on the stiffness matrix of the composite. Finally, quasi-static tensile tests were used to assess the stiffness reduction of the composite and compare the values to those acquired non-destructively. The effect of exposure time on the strength of the composite was determined in the same way.