A CHAIN NETWORK MODEL SIMULATING MACRO MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR AND MICRO DAMAGE EVOLUTION OF Si 3N 4 CERAMICS

By taking the bridging of elongated grains as a dominant load transfer mechanism across the intrinsic flaws in the matrix, a chain-network model is proposed and used to simulate macro mechanical response and micro damage evolution of in situ reinforced ceramics. Relation between the mechanical parameters of the chains and the geometrical-physical properties of the elongated grains is discussed. Numerical experiments and statistic investigations are carried out.