02/26/2004 -
Ceramic Matrix Composites, Second Edition (2003)
by K.K. Chawla
ISBN 1-40207-262-7. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, Massachusetts. 2003. Hardcover. 456 pages. $185.
| REVIEWED BY: | Karabi Das, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
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A course on composite materials has become a part of both undergraduate and graduate curricula of materials science all over the world. The first edition of K.K. Chawla’s book, which was well received by many, has been extensively revised and updated in this edition. The major limitation of the monolithic ceramics is their extreme brittleness. Since the publication of the first edition of this book, significant progress has been made in the processing of continuous ceramic fibers, resulting in the development of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) with improved toughness.
This book has 11 chapters including the Introduction. Chapter 2 gives an overview of conventional ceramic and glass materials, which are used as the matrix materials. The synthesis of such ceramics is briefly described in this chapter. Chapter 3 discusses ceramic reinforcements, typical properties of such reinforcements, and their synthesis. The strength of fibers and how that strength is affected by temperature on it are briefly presented in this chapter. Those who have very little or no knowledge of ceramic materials will find these chapters quite useful. Chapter 4 describes the processing of CMCs. Although the chapter is rather short, students are exposed to different types of processing methods. References are cited for further study.
In Chapter 5, the role of the interface is introduced, along with mechanical testing procedures to evaluate the strength of the interface. These techniques are described rather concisely, but they expose the readers to a variety of techniques. One can learn details of these techniques from the references cited at the end of the chapter. Toughening of composites and interface mechanics are presented in detail later, in Chapter 9.
By tailoring the interface, the fracture toughness of CMCs can be improved. Micromechanical descriptions of different elastic constants, thermal expansion coefficients, thermal conductivity, density, etc. are introduced in Chapter 6, while various mechanical testing procedures like bend, tensile, fatigue, creep, etc. are discussed in Chapter 7. Typical mechanical properties of some common CMCs are available in this chapter.
Chapter 8 provides a theoretical basis for the generation of thermal stresses in CMCs. The general concepts of macromechanics, as applicable to laminated composites, are summarized in Chapter 10. This chapter also provides examples of CMCs, especially of carbon/carbon composites.
Ceramic-matrix composites are a relatively new class of engineering materials that are rapidly evolving. It is quite difficult to write a textbook on such a subject that is so young! With his enviable style, the author has done a very good job in writing this textbook, which will be appreciated by students as well as teachers.
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