  SiC/SiC composite tubes are studied as materials for nuclear fuel cladding. A
thorough understanding on the mechanisms of damage to this material requires
both an experimental and a numerical study. In situ tensile tests were
performed under X-ray tomography at the SOLEIL synchrotron. Post processing
methods have been developed to analyze the microstructure, measure the
deformation and characterize qualitatively and quantitatively the damage
mechanisms inside the material. The tomographic images provide 3D descriptions
on the microstructure, which are direct input data for the numerical simulation
based on FFT. The use of real microstructures makes it possible to combine the
simulation results directly with the experimental observations.
