The effect of microstructural morphology on the elastic, inelastic, and degradation behaviors of aluminum–alumina composites

•We study microstructures with actual and idealized shapes of inhomogeneities.•We examine thermal stresses in the composites with different microstructures.•The macroscopic responses of composites strongly depend on the thermal stresses.•The effects of shapes of inhomogeneities on the overall response are insignificant.

Micromechanical models with idealized and simplified shapes of inhomogeneities have been widely used to obtain the average (macroscopic) mechanical response of different composite materials. The main purpose of this study is to examine whether the composites with irregular shapes of inhomogeneities, such as in the aluminum–alumina (Al–Al2O3) composites, can be approximated by considering idealized and simplified shapes of inhomogeneities in determining their overall macroscopic mechanical responses. We study the effects of microstructural characteristics, on mechanical behavior (elastic, inelastic, and degradation) of the constituents, and shapes and distributions of the pores and inclusions (inhomogeneities), and thermal stresses on the overall mechanical properties and response of the Al–Al2O3 composites. Microstructures of a composite with 20% alumina volume content are constructed from the microstructural images of the composite obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM images of the composite are converted to finite element (FE) meshes, which are used to determine the overall mechanical response of the Al–Al2O3 composite. We also construct micromechanics model by considering circular shapes of the inhomogeneities, while maintaining the same volume contents and locations of the inhomogeneities as the ones in the micromechanics model with actual shapes of inhomogeneities. The macroscopic elastic and inelastic responses and stress fields in the constituents from the micromechanics models with actual and circular shapes of inhomogeneities are compared and discussed.