Fiber volume ratio effect on the crack bridging mechanism in uniaxial reinforced ceramic composites

An unidirectional fiber reinforced and centrally cracked infinite composite plate under uniaxial stress is considered. Elastic and frictional bridging relations which express the relation between the stress in the fiber and the crack opening displacement along the crack axis which are consistent with infinite brittle fiber-reinforced composite behaviour are chosen to be utilized in the formulation of the problem. The differential equation of the orthotropic plate in plane stress is solved through Fourier transform techniques and the stresses are obtained in terms of the crack surface derivative function. The singular integral equation system is reduced to the solution of a non-linear system of algebraic equations by introducing Chebyshev polynomials. Stress intensity factor at crack tips, crack opening displacement and the point where the bridging type transition point on the crack axis are calculated for SiC/Al₂O₃. The effect of the variations of the fiber volume ratio on the bridging mechanism is presented.