Effect of SiC concentration on the mechanical properties and fracture modes of SiC/Al composites via cluster analysis of acoustic emission signals

Particle reinforced aluminum matrix composites (PRAMCs) are widely applied in the industry for their high strength-weight ratio, hardness, and good creep and corrosion resistance. The failure behavior of PRAMCs-structure in actual service is a topic that has attracted extensive attention. In this work, the tensile fracture behavior of PRAMCs reinforced with four different concentrations of SiC particles was investigated. The results show that the brittleness of SiC/Al increases while the toughness decreases with the increase of SiC concentration. Meanwhile, acoustic emission (AE) signals were collected during the loading process by using transducers, and they were post-processed using cluster analysis algorithm. The results showed that AE data can be divided into two clusters, correlating to the brittle and ductile failure modes. Also, the frequency characteristics for each failure mode was identified, offering guidance for the health monitoring of in-service PRAMCs structural parts.