cause of a trade-of between the increase in slope and the
decrease in strain before the deformation of the particle,
there is an optimum crystal volume fraction which gives the maximum elongation. Figure 3 (g) shows the relation- ship between Young's modulus E and the volume frac- tion f . Young's modulus was estimated from the slope
of the stress-strain curve in the range of 0 < yy < 0.001.
The increasing rate of Young's modulus dE/d f increases
as the crystal volume fraction increases, rather than being
in a direct proportional relationship. This relationship is very similar to the result obtained by the equivalent inclu- sion method which is valid for estimating the mechanical properties of particle-dispersed composites(23) - (26). Fig- ure 3 (i) presents the relationship between the flow stress