referred to as the cumulative damage energy and as such is
regarded as an indication of the ability of the material to sustain
damage rather than as a material property. Fracture mechanics
methods for the characterization of CMCs have not been
developed. The determination of the modulus of toughness as
provided in this test method for the characterization of the
cumulative damage process in CMCs may become obsolete
when fracture mechanics methods for CMCs become available.
3.1.12 proportional limit stress, n—the greatest stress that a
material is capable of sustaining without any deviation from
proportionality of stress to strain (Hooke’s law).
3.1.12.1 Discussion—Many experiments have shown that
values observed for the proportional limit vary greatly with the
sensitivity and accuracy of the testing equipment, eccentricity
of loading, the scale to which the stress-strain diagram is
plotted, and other factors. When determination of proportional
limit is required, the procedure and sensitivity of the test
equipment should be specified. (See Terminology E6.)
3.1.13 slow crack growth, n—subcritical crack growth (ex-
tension) which may result from, but is not restricted to, such
mechanisms as environmentally assisted stress corrosion or
diffusive crack growth.
4. Summary of Test Method
4.1 In the test method a composite tube/cylinder with a
defined gage section and a known wall thickness is loaded by
the radial expansion an elastomeric insert (located midway
inside the tube) that is compressed longitudinally between
pushrods. The elastomeric insert expands under the uniaxial
compressive loading of the pushrods and exerts a uniform
radial pressure on the inside of the tube. The resulting hoop
stress-strain response of the composite tube is recorded until
failure of the tube. The hoop tensile strength and the hoop
fracture strength are determined from the resulting maximum
pressure and the pressure at fracture. The hoop tensile strains,
the proportional limit hoop stress, and the modulus of elasticity
in the hoop direction are determined from the stress-strain data.
4.2 Hoop tensile strength as used in this test method refers
to the tensile strength in the hoop direction from the induced
pressure of a monotonic, uniaxially loaded elastomeric insert,
where “monotonic” refers to a continuous test rate with no
reversals.
4.3 The test method is applicable to a range of test specimen
tube geometries based on a non-dimensional parameter that
includes composite material property and tube radius. Lengths
of the composite tube, pushrods, and elastomeric insert are
determined from this non-dimensional parameter so as to
provide a gage length with uniform internal radial pressure. A
wide range of combinations of material properties, tube radii,
wall thicknesses, tube lengths, and insert lengths are possible.
5. Significance and Use
5.1 This test method (also known as overhung tube method)
may be used for material development, material comparison,
material screening, material down selection, and quality assur-
ance. This test method is not recommended for material
characterization, design data generation, material model
verification/validation, or combinations thereof.
5.2 Continuous fiber-reinforced ceramic composites
(CFCCs) are composed of continuous ceramic-fiber directional
(1D, 2D, and 3D) reinforcements in a fine-grain-sized
(<50 µm) ceramic matrix with controlled porosity. Often these
composites have an engineered thin (0.1 to 10 µm) interface
coating on the fibers to produce crack deflection and fiber
pull-out.
5.3 CFCC components have a distinctive and synergistic
combination of material properties, interface coatings, porosity
control, composite architecture (1D, 2D, and 3D), and geomet-
ric shape that are generally inseparable. Prediction of the
mechanical performance of CFCC tubes (particularly with
braid and 3D weave architectures) cannot be made by applying
measured properties from flat CFCC plates to the design of
tubes. In particular, tubular components comprised of CMCs
material form a unique synergistic combination of material and
geometric shape that are generally inseparable. In other words,
prediction of mechanical performance of CMC tubes generally
cannot be made by using properties measured from flat plates.
Strength tests of internally pressurized CMC tubes provide
information on mechanical behavior and strength for a multi-
axially stressed material.
5.4 Unlike monolithic advanced ceramics which fracture
catastrophically from a single dominant flaw, CMCs generally
experience “graceful” fracture from a cumulative damage
process. Therefore, while the volume of material subjected to a
uniform hoop tensile stress for a single uniformly pressurized
tube test may be a significant factor for determining matrix
cracking stress, this same volume may not be as significant a
factor in determining the ultimate strength of a CMC.
However, the probabilistic nature of the strength distributions
of the brittle matrices of CMCs requires a statistically signifi-
cant number of test specimens for statistical analysis and
design. Studies to determine the exact influence of test speci-
men volume on strength distributions for CMCs have not been
completed. It should be noted that hoop tensile strengths
obtained using different recommended test specimens with
different volumes of material in the gage sections may be
different due to these volume effects.
5.5 Hoop tensile strength tests provide information on the
strength and deformation of materials under biaxial stresses
induced from internal pressurization of tubes. Nonuniform
stress states are inherent in these types of tests and subsequent
evaluation of any nonlinear stress-strain behavior must take
into account the unsymmetric behavior of the CMC under
biaxial stressing. This nonlinear behavior may develop as the
result of cumulative damage processes (for example, matrix
cracking, matrix/fiber debonding, fiber fracture, delamination,
etc.) which may be influenced by testing mode, testing rate,
processing or alloying effects, or environmental influences.
Some of these effects may be consequences of stress corrosion
or subcritical (slow) crack growth that can be minimized by
testing at sufficiently rapid rates as outlined in this test method.
5.6 The results of hoop tensile strength tests of test speci-
mens fabricated to standardized dimensions from a particular
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