Abstract
Strength of 16 discontinuously-reinforced MMCs having different reinforcement configuration, size and volume fraction are investigated. Composite strengthening are evaluated based on the classical composite theories and measured microstructures characteristics of the MMCs. It is found that the classical strengthening mechanisms are not capable of synthetical prediction of the strength. These faults are attributed to the change of microstructural factors such as dislocation density, thermal residual stress and dispersion strengthening due to the existence of the reinforcement. Principals to improve MMC microstructures from the point of view of optimizing strength are also investigated systematically.