Effect of particle clustering on fatigue behavior of Mg-amorphous alloy composite

In this paper, fatigue tests were conducted on the new class of magnesium matrix composite reinforced with amorphous alloy particle. Effect of microstructure and particle distribution on fatigue properties is investigated. The difference of the microstructure is the cause for different crack initiation and propagation and this condition influenced fatigue life. In this study, a new method is extended for the characterization of particle local volume fraction variation by including area-probe based averaging. The heterogeneity of the particle spatial distribution is characterized from the fractured surface of the specimens. The results of this study shows the spatial distribution of reinforcements is one of the fundamental microstructural quantities and correlates with mechanical properties of particulate reinforced composites, such as fatigue properties. The distribution of reinforcement particles controls the extrusion load. In the case of non-uniform particles distribution, there are several fracture origins and these conditions influenced fatigue life of the material. The specimens extruded at higher load have higher fatigue life.