ABSTRACT
The impact energy for 50 vol % Borsic-aluminum composites as determined from full size Charpy “V” notch specimens is shown in Figure 130. 123 The “LT” notch-filament configuration not only yields the highest impact energy but also demonstrates an increase in energy absorption capacity with increasing boron content. In comparison, the “TT” and “TL” notch-filament configurations have much lower energy absorption capacity and appear to be insensitive to boron content. In the case of the “LT” notch-filament configuration, the crack front is propagating normal to the filaments with composite failure requiring the fracture of all filaments in the cross section. With this configuration cracks can be deflected parallel to the filaments along the filament-matrix interface increasing the composites energy absorption capacity. The stresses normal to the filament are considerably smaller than is the case for the other two configurations.
