The Fracture Toughness of Boron Aluminum Composites

The following paper describes a test and analysis program concerning the fracture toughness of 0° , 90° , 0° /90° and ±45° boron filament rein forced aluminum matrix composites. Two different analytical techniques were used to determine fracture toughness based on the tensile testing of prenotched compact tension specimens over a wide range of ( a/w). It is shown that good agreement exists between these two techniques for both uniaxially and biaxially reinforced material. Comparisons were also made between specimens of two thicknesses and between the behavior of specimens having as-machined and propagating cracks. Values of fracture toughness for boron aluminum are presented and compared with similar data for other engineering materials.