Quantitative study of correlation between fracture surface roughness and fatigue properties of SiC/Al composites

Quantitative measurements were carried out on the fatigue fracture surface of the SiC/Al composite by a sectioning method. It was shown that the cyclic plastic strain amplitude, SiC volume fraction and particle size have effects on fracture surface roughness R(S). The measured fracture surface roughness R(S) is closely related to the fatigue-crack propagation path and may corresponds to the fatigue life. Moreover, it was found that there is an obvious difference in the R(S) values for fatigue fractures which are due to different fracture mechanisms. These results show that it is possible to reflect the fracture mechanism using fracture surface roughness and relate it to the fracture properties of materials.