Insight into crack propagation induced by fiber orientations during single grain scratching of SiCf/SiC composites using FEM

Due to the multiphase structure and anisotropy of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), crack propagation is extremely complex during grinding. However, there is no full comprehension of the crack propagation law of CMCs in varying fiber directions, which limits high-quality CMCs machining. Based on experimental and numerical results, the effect of fiber directions on crack propagation of SiCf/SiC composites was analyzed. Results demonstrate that the change in crack propagation path is the primary reason why the removal behavior of CMCs is different from traditional ceramics. For CMCs, the interface is the priority path of crack propagation no matter along any fiber direction. Besides, the fiber orientation determines the propagation paths of radial and subsurface cracks, which affects material removal behavior. Comparing the scratched groove, the groove edge damage is the most severe when scratching along the fiber transverse direction, whereas the scratched groove surface quality is best in the perpendicular direction.