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dissertation global and local fracture properties of metal matrix ...

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1 µm<br />

Section 7<br />

5 µm<br />

Fig. 7.3. A schematic view <strong>of</strong> the quadrat method for the PM-MMC Al6061-20%Al2O3.<br />

The major problem <strong>of</strong> the quadrat method is to determine the optimum quadrat size. Non-<br />

r<strong>and</strong>omness is highly dependent on the size <strong>of</strong> the sample quadrat. In this study, the problem<br />

becomes more complicated due to the difference in the size <strong>of</strong> the reinforcements. According<br />

to [82], the optimum quadrat size is twice the size <strong>of</strong> the mean area per particle. If for our<br />

material the particle size is set to 3 µm (which lies in the middle <strong>of</strong> the range <strong>of</strong> observed<br />

particle sizes), the quadrat size becomes a = 8.5 µm. Qualitative analysis <strong>of</strong> the<br />

microstructures shows that this quadrat size seems to be the optimum value for this<br />

investigation. In Figure 7.3, a schematic view <strong>of</strong> the quadrat method for our case is presented.<br />

The particles that belong to different quadrats are painted in different colours. One can see<br />

that a lower a-value could artificially decrease the number <strong>of</strong> particles in the quadrats<br />

corresponding to clusters containing large particles (5 µm). At the same time, higher a-values<br />

could significantly decrease the number <strong>of</strong> empty quadrats <strong>and</strong> tend to give the same number<br />

<strong>of</strong> particles in each quadrat, irrespective <strong>of</strong> the presence <strong>of</strong> clusters.<br />

For the microstructural investigation, the rods are sectioned in the longitudinal direction,<br />

grinded, polished, <strong>and</strong> investigated in the SEM. 9 micrographs from the center region <strong>of</strong> the<br />

specimens are taken in the SEM, each covering an area <strong>of</strong> 130×100 µm. Each image is<br />

divided into 140 quadrats. The histograms <strong>of</strong> the particle per quadrat distribution for each<br />

material condition are plotted. These histograms are compared with theoretical distributions:<br />

84<br />

a =8.5 µm

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