Modelling influence of particulate shape on damping capacity of Al/SiC(p) composite

A cell model, together with finite element method (FEM), was employed to analyse the damping capacity of Al/SiC(p) at room temperature. In the model, four different kinds of SiC particulate shape, i.e. circle, rectangle, hexagon and triangle, under different particulate/matrix interface conditions have been respectively considered. Numerical results show that the influence of SiC particle morphology on the damping capacity of the composite is quite different under different matrix/particulate interface conditions: when the interface is ideal, the variation of the damping capacity of Al/SiC(p) at room temperature with the shape of particulates of SiC from high to low is triangle, hexagon, circle and rectangle, in turn, under the condition of the same strain amplitude; when the interface is weak, the order is hexagon, triangle, circle and rectangle. The difference of the damping capacity with different particle shapes was ascribed to the plastic deformation of the cell. Numerical results also show good agreements with the experimental results.