Elastic properties of ceramic-metal particulate composites

In the present study, the experimental data on the elastic properties of several ceramic-metal systems, Al2O3-NiAl, SiC-Al, WC-Co and glass-W, are compiled and compared with several theoretical predictions. These theoretical predictions offer upper and lower bounds on the elastic constants. The elastic moduli of the ceramic-metal composites fall well within the Voigt-Reuss bounds and Hashin-Shtrikman (H-S) bounds. Though most the Poisson's ratio of ceramic-metal composites falls within the modified H-S bounds, the values of the composites with low second-phase concentration deviate from model predictions. The deviation shows strong dependence on the interconnectivity of each phase in the composites.