Plastic deformation and fracture in coarse-grained aluminum

Plastic deformation and fracture in aluminum polycrystalline aggregate were investigated experimentally. A series of tensile specimens with a single edge crack were made of coarse-grained aluminum plates. The in-plane moiré technique was used to quantitatively obtain the deformation field around the crack tip. The strain field ahead of the crack tip prior to crack growth, as well as grain rotations during the course of plastic deformation, were evaluated from the corresponding moiré fringe patterns. The results of this study show that for small plastic deformation, grain rotation starts to take place at the very beginning of the plastic deformation and increases proportionally with plastic strain. The plastic strain ahead of the crack tip prior to crack growth drops significantly with decreasing average grain size of the specimen. Grain boundary sliding was also observed at some of the grain boundaries where the resolved shear stress had reached a critical value. The results also show that the crack propagated with maximum velocity at the center of a grain and assumed much slower velocity near grain boundaries or grain boundary junctions. The influence of the deformation rate is also discussed in terms of the stress relaxation.     

On the interactions between strain accumulation, microstructure, and fatigue crack behavior

Fatigue crack growth is a complex process that involves interactions between many elements ranging across several length scales. This work provides an in-depth, experimental study of fatigue crack growth and the relationships between four of these elements: strain field, microstructure, crack path, and crack growth rate. Multiple data sets were acquired for fatigue crack growth in a nickel-based superalloy, Hastelloy X. Electron backscatter diffraction was used to acquire microstructural information, scanning electron microscopy was used to identify locations of slip bands and crack path, and optical microscopy was used to measure crack growth rates and to acquire images for multiscale digital image correlation (DIC). Plastic strain accumulation associated with fatigue crack growth was measured at the grain level using DIC. An ex situ technique provided sub-grain level resolution to measure strain variations within individual grains while an in situ technique over the same regions showed the evolution of strain with crack propagation. All of these data sets were spatially aligned to allow direct, full-field comparisons among the variables. This in-depth analysis of fatigue crack behavior elucidates several relationships among the four elements mentioned above. Near the crack tip, lobes of elevated strain propagated with the crack tip plastic zone. Behind the crack tip, in the plastic wake, significant inhomogeneities were observed and related to grain geometry and orientation. Grain structure was shown to affect the crack path and the crack growth rate locally, although the global crack growth rate was relatively constant as predicted by the Paris law for loading with a constant stress intensity factor. Some dependency of crack growth rate on local strain and crack path was also found. The experimental comparisons of grain structure, strain field, and crack growth behavior shown in this work provide insight into the fatigue crack growth process at the sub-grain and multi-grain scale.     

High resolution digital image correlation measurements of strain accumulation in fatigue crack growth

Microstructure plays a key role in fatigue crack initiation and growth. Consequently, measurements of strain at the microstructural level are crucial to understanding fatigue crack behavior. The few studies that provide such measurements have relatively limited resolution or areas of observation. This paper provides quantitative, full-field measurements of plastic strain near a growing fatigue crack in Hastelloy X, a nickel-based superalloy. Unprecedented spatial resolution for the area covered was obtained through a novel experimental technique based on digital image correlation (DIC). These high resolution strain measurements were linked to electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) measurements of grain structure (both grain shape and orientation).Accumulated plastic strain fields associated with fatigue crack growth exhibited inhomogeneities at two length scales. At the macroscale, the plastic wake contained high strain regions in the form of asymmetric lobes associated with past crack tip plastic zones. At high magnification, high resolution DIC measurements revealed inhomogeneities at, and below, the grain scale. Effective strain not only varied from grain to grain, but also within individual grains. Furthermore, strain localizations were observed in slip bands within grains and on twin and grain boundaries. A better understanding of these multiscale heterogeneities could help explain variations in fatigue crack growth rate and crack path and could improve the understanding of fatigue crack closure and fracture in ductile metals.     

风力机叶片复合材料裂尖温度场及微观损伤研究

依据热力耦合建立含微缺陷叶片的裂尖温度场数值模型,并研究了微缺陷叶片断裂微观损伤方式。首先,建立裂尖温度场数学模型需要确定塑性区范围和塑性区内的内热流密度函数。基于正交各向异性复合材料裂纹尖端应力场和Tsai-Wu屈服准则理论推导,得到含微缺陷风电叶片Ⅰ/Ⅱ复合型裂纹的塑性区范围;内热流密度函数按照裂纹扩散规律构造。其次,利用电子扫描电镜技术对叶片试件的断口失效微观结构进行检测。通过红外热像仪监测微缺陷叶片试件表面温度实验,验证了裂尖温度场计算模型的准确性;确定计算温度场模型中内热流密度函数幂数为2;通过显微技术发现含气泡缺陷的叶片试件有纤维断裂、基体开裂损伤方式。     

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON SMALL FATIGUE CRACKS IN A SUPERALLOY

Abstract —An investigation into the applicability of linear elastic fracture mechanics to very small fatigue cracks growing in a powder metallurgy nickel base superalloy is described. An unusual specimen was designed to facilitate the study of these small cracks. The stress intensity factor for the specimen was estimated and then calculated from the plastic zone size as determined by interferometry. The crack tip deformation field was also observed in the SEM and by stereoscopic viewing. These observations showed that the macroscopic deformation field was the same for both the long and short cracks, and was controlled by the stress intensity. The fatigue crack tip was found to interact strongly with the material microstructure and the localgrowth rate cannot be correlated with fracture mechanics quantities.     

Fracture mechanism of AZ31 magnesium alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing comparing three point bending test and tensile test

A commercial magnesium alloy, AZ31 in hot-rolled condition, has been processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) to get microstructure modified. Uniaxial tensile tests were conducted along the rolling/extrusion direction for as-received AZ31 alloy and ECAPed AZ31 alloy. Then, three point bending fracture tests were conducted for specimens with a pre-crack perpendicular to the extruded direction. Digital image correlation (DIC) technique was adopted to determine the deformation field around the crack tip. The fracture surfaces of the failed specimens after tensile tests and fracture tests were observed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). To explore the deformation mechanism, the microstructure and texture of different regions on the deformed specimens were examined through electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The results show ECAP process improves both the tensile elongation and fracture toughness of AZ31 alloy. Different from the slip dominated deformation mechanism in the tensile test, deformation twinning presents in the deformation zone adjacent to the crack tip in the three point bending fracture tests. The fracture surface is characterized by co-occurrence of dimple and cleavage features.     

基于声发射技术的30CrMnSi钢断裂机理研究

采用三点弯曲试样加载过程声发射监测实验,结合断口SEM观察及X射线能谱分析,考察了30CrMnSi合金钢延性断裂的整个物理过程.结果表明:30CrMnSi钢的断裂过程从宏观上可以分为裂尖塑性变形、裂纹亚临界扩展和裂纹失稳扩展三个阶段.其机理如下:裂尖塑性变形过程是位错的滑移、堆积而引起的孔洞形核和长大;裂纹亚临界扩展过...     

Image correlation technique for strain measurement of polycrystalline microstructures

An image processing technique is proposed to measure the deformation of polycrystalline materials based on correlating the grains in reference and deformed SEM images. The advantage of this technique compared to the conventional subset-based Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is that it can be applied when speckle patterning is not efficient or when studying boundary-related mechanics is the objective. The technique is based on correlating grains by defining their boundaries rather than just subsets of image pixels. It reveals the anisotropy inherent in the polycrystals since it allows the analysis to specify each grain separately without averaging the results. The technique is applied by detecting the approximate grain boundaries edges and then refining their location with high accuracy. The correlation is performed between points calculated from each grain in the reference and deformed images as a Point Set Registration (PSR) problem. Finally, the displacements and strains are calculated from the resulting transformation matrix. A benchmark problem was developed to discuss the error over a strain range of 0.02 to 0.2 and showed that the resulting strains are reasonably accurate. Also, an in situ experiment was conducted to demonstrate the implementation of the technique using a specimen with fine-grained Zirconia polycrystals. The technique successfully revealed the crack tip plastic zone, and strain mismatch between grains.     

Fatigue crack tip plastic zone of α + β titanium alloy with Widmanstatten microstructure

The recent studies had focused on the fatigue crack propagation behaviors of α?+?β titanium alloys with Widmanstatten microstructure. The fascinated interest of this type of microstructure is due to the superior fatigue crack propagation resistance and fracture toughness as compared to other microstructures, which was believed to be related to the fatigue crack tip plastic zone (CTPZ). In this study, the plastic deformation in fatigue CTPZ of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy with Widmanstatten microstructure was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The results showed that large-scale slipping and deformation twinning were generated in fatigue CTPZ due to the crystallographic feature of the Widmanstatten microstructure. The activation of twinning was related to the rank of Schmid factor (SF) and the diversity of twin variants developing behaviors reflected the influence of SF rank. The sizes of CTPZ under different stress intensity factors (K) were examined by the white-light coherence method, and the results revealed that the range of the plastic zone is enlarged with the increasing K (or crack length), while the plastic strain decreased rapidly with the increasing distance from the crack surface. The large-scale slipping and deformation twinning in Widmannstatten microstructure remarkably expanded the range of fatigue CTPZ, which would lead to the obvious larger size of the observed CTPZ than that of the theoretically calculated size.     

Size effect on deformation behavior and ductile fracture in microforming of pure copper sheets considering free surface roughening

In meso/micro-scaled plastic deformation, material deformation and ductile fracture are quite different from those in macro-scale. The roughness of the free surfaces of workpiece increases with deformation and the decrease of grain number in the sample thickness direction, leading to the nonuniformity of specimen thickness. The so-called size effect and free surface roughening may in turn affect the deformation behavior, ductility and fracture morphology of the samples. To explore the coupled effect of workpiece geometry and grain size on material flow behavior in meso/micro-scaled plastic deformation, uniaxial tensile test of pure copper sheets with different thicknesses and comparable microstructure was performed. The experimental results reveal that the material flow stress, fracture stress and strain, and the number of microvoids on fracture surface are getting smaller with the decreasing ratio of specimen thickness to grain size. In addition, the modified Swift’s equation and the corrected uniform strain are closer to the experimental ones considering the thickness nonuniform coefficient induced by the free surface roughening. Furthermore, the observation of fracture morphologies confirms that the local deformation caused by the free surface roughening leads to strain localization and a decreased fracture strain when there are only a few grains involved in plastic deformation.     

Micromechanics of shear deformations in cracked bonded joints

Experiments and analytical analysis were carried out to elucidate the process of crack propagation in adhesively bonded joints loaded in mode II. The adhesive used was a toughened epoxy resin, with the bond thickness varying from a few micrometers to 0.6 mm. The development of a plastic deformation zone at the crack tip was monitored in real-time using a high-magnification video camera. Within the plastic zone the adhesive shear strain, determined from scratch marks applied to the specimen edge, was uniform across the bond except for several bond thicknesses long region just ahead of the crack tip where, depending on bond thickness, noticeable strain gradients may develop. The experimental results suggest that the critical shear strain at the crack tip is a viable fracture criterion. A simplified analysis for the cracked bond which is based on the technical theory of beams/plates and which considers nonlinear adhesive behavior was developed. The model prediction for the increase in the plastic deformation zone with load and the distribution of shear strain within the zone agreed well with the experimental results. An expression for the energy dissipated by the advancing crack was derived which accounted for the nonlinearity in the load vs. deflection curve observed in the fracture experiments and allowed G _IIC to be calculated from easily measurable test parameters.     

A crystal plasticity study of cyclic constitutive behaviour, crack-tip deformation and crack-growth path for a polycrystalline nickel-based superalloy

Crystal plasticity has been applied to model the cyclic constitutive behaviour of a polycrystalline nickel-based superalloy at elevated temperature using finite element analyses. A representative volume element, consisting of randomly oriented grains, was considered for the finite element analyses under periodic boundary constraints. Strain-controlled cyclic test data at 650 °C were used to determine the model parameters from a fitting process, where three loading rates were considered. Model simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results for stress–strain loops, cyclic hardening behaviour and stress relaxation behaviour. Stress and strain distributions within the representative volume element are of heterogeneous nature due to the orientation mismatch between neighbouring grains. Stress concentrations tend to occur within “hard” grains while strain concentrations tend to locate within “soft” grains, depending on the orientation of grains with respect to the loading direction. The model was further applied to study the near-tip deformation of a transgranular crack in a compact tension specimen using a submodelling technique. Grain microstructure is shown to have an influence on the von Mises stress distribution near the crack tip, and the gain texture heterogeneity disturbs the well-known butterfly shape obtained from the viscoplasticity analysis at continuum level. The stress–strain response near the crack tip, as well as the accumulated shear deformation along slip system, is influenced by the orientation of the grain at the crack tip, which might dictate the subsequent crack growth through grains. Individual slip systems near the crack tip tend to have different amounts of accumulated shear deformation, which was utilised as a criterion to predict the crack growth path.     

ELEVATED TEMPERATURE FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH IN ALLOY 718—PART II: EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND MATERIAL VARIABLES

Observations concerning the effects of the environment and material variables on the crack growth process in alloy 718 are reviewed and analyzed on the basis of deformation characteristics in the crack tip region. The review of the role of material variables has focused on the effects of chemical composition and microstructure parameters including precipitate size and morphology as well as grain size and morphology. These analyses have suggested that the governing mechanism at the crack tip is the degree of homogeneity of plastic deformation and associated slip density. For conditions promoting homogeneous plastic deformation, with a high degree of slip density, the environmental damage contribution is shown to be limited, thus permitting the dominance of cyclic damage effects which are characterized by a transgranular crack growth mode and a lower crack growth rate. Under conditions leading to inhomogeneous plastic deformation and lower slip density the crack tip damage is described in terms of grain boundary oxidation and related intergranular fracture mode. Considering that the crack growth damage mechanism in alloy 718 ranges from fully cycle dependent to fully environment dependent, conflicting experimental observations under different operating conditions are examined and a sensitizing approach is suggested to increase the alloy resistance to environmental effects.     

An FEM study on crack tip blunting in ductile fracture initiation

Ductile fracture is initiated by void nucleation at a characteristic distance (I_c) from the crack tip and propagated by void growth followed by coalescence with the tip. The earlier concepts expressed I_c in terms of grain size or inter-particle distance because grain and particle boundaries form potential sites for void nucleation. However, Srinivas et al. (1994) observed nucleation of such voids even inside the crack tip grains in a nominally particle free Armco iron. In an attempt to achieve a unified understanding of these observations, typical crack-tip blunting prior to ductile fracture in a standard C(T) specimen (Mode I) was studied using a finite element method (FEM) supporting large elasto-plastic deformation and material rotation. Using a set of experimental data on Armco iron specimens of different grain sizes, it is shown that none of the locations of the maxima of the parameters stress, strain and strain energy density correspond to I_c. Nevertheless, the size of the zone of intense plastic deformation, as calculated from the strain energy density distribution ahead of the crack tip in the crack plane, compares well with the experimentally measured I_c. The integral of the strain energy density variation from the crack tip to the location of void nucleation is found to be linearly proportional to J_IC. Using this result, an expression is arrived at relating I_c to J_IC and further extended to CTOD_c.     

Recrystallization-etch approach to study the plastic energy absorbtion at crack initiation and extension of pressure-vessel steel A533B-1

To evaluate the elastic-plastic fracture toughness parameter of nuclear pressure-vessel steel A533B-1, a newly developed technique (the recrystallization-etch technique) for plastic strain measurement was applied to different sizes of compact tension specimens with a crack length/specimen width of 0.6–0.5 that were tested to generate resistance curves for stable crack extensions. By means of the recrystallization-etch technique, the plastic energy dissipation or work done within an intense strain region at the crack tip during crack initiation and extension was measured experimentally. Furthermore, the thickness effects on this crack tip energy dissipation rate were examined in comparison with other fracture-parameter J integrals. Thickness effects on critical energy dissipation and energy dissipation rate during crack extension were obtained and the energy dissipation rate dW _p/da in the mid-section shows a constant value irrespective of specimen geometry and size, which can be used as a fracture parameter or crack resistance property.     

THE EFFECT OF GRAIN SIZE ON THE FATIGUE OF COMMERCIALLY PURE ALUMINIUM

Abstract— Fully reversed uniaxial fatigue tests were performed on polished hour-glass specimens of commercially pure aluminium with three different grain sizes, in order to examine the effect of grain size on fatigue. The growth of surface cracks was monitored by a plastic replication method. An improvement in fatigue strength was observed, as the polycrystal grain size was refined. The endurance limit stress was shown to depend on the inverse square root of the grain size as described empirically by a type of Hall-Petch relation. The effect of refining grain size on fatigue crack growth is to increase the number of microstructural barriers to the advancing crack and to reduce the slip length ahead of the crack tip, and thereby lower the crack growth rate. Multiple crack initiation and growth is a feature of the fatigue of aluminium, while the grain size influences the specific detail of crack coalescence. Crack path deviation is greatest in the coarse grained microstructure and crack surface roughness is more pronounced. SEM fractography reveals that crack initiation and early crack growth takes place along crystallographic slip planes, and that fatigue striations, characteristic of stage II cracking, extend to the very edge of the specimen section, suggesting extensive crack tip blunting.     

数字图像相关法测量聚碳酸酯板应力强度因子

本文以数字图像相关方法测量了聚碳酸酯板的张开型应力强度因子（SIF）。实验过程中以聚碳酸酯标准紧凑拉伸式样为样本,由数字图像相关（DIC）方法提取不同载荷下裂纹附近的全场位移。在已计算得到全场位移的情况下,由线弹性断裂理论可知,弹性区域内每一点位移可表示为SIF的函数。在计算SIF时考虑了实验中不可避免存在的刚体平移与转动的影响,应力强度因子、刚体平移与转动可由最小二乘法计算得到;还讨论了位移场的选择及位移展开项项数对SIF的影响。实验结果与理论值进行了比较,结果显示DIC方法准确地测量了聚碳酸酯板的应力强度因子,因此DIC为测量SIF提供了一种有效的试验方法。     

Near-tip strain evolution under cyclic loading: In situ experimental observation and numerical modelling

The concept of ratchetting strain as a crack driving force in controlling crack growth has previously been explored at Portsmouth using numerical approaches for nickel-based superalloys. In this paper, we report the first quantitative experimental evidence of near-tip strain ratchetting with cycles, as captured in situ by digital image correlation (DIC) technique on a compact tension specimen of stainless steel 316L, using both Stereo and SEM systems. The evolution of the near-tip strains with loading cycles was monitored whilst the crack tip was kept stationary. The strains normal to the crack plane were examined over selected distances from 6 to 57 μm to the crack tip for a number of cycles. The results show that strain ratchetting occurs with loading cycles, and is particularly evident close to the crack tip and under higher loads. 3D finite element models have also been developed to simulate the experiments and the results from the simulation are compared with those from the DIC measurements.This is the first time that near-tip strain ratchetting has been captured in situ at the peak loads during cyclic loading.     

Crack tip opening angle optical measurement methods in five pipeline steels

Crack tip opening angle (CTOA) is becoming one of the more widely accepted properties for characterizing fully plastic fracture. In fact, it has been recognized as a measure of the resistance of a material to fracture in cases where there is a large degree of stable-tearing crack extension during the fracture process.Our current pipeline research uses the CTOA concept as an alternative or an addition to the fracture energy characterizations provided by the Charpy V-notch (CVN) and drop weight tear test (DWTT). A test technique for direct measurement of CTOA was developed by use of a modified double cantilever beam (MDCB) specimen. A digital camera and image analysis software were used to record the progression of the crack tip and to estimate CTOA. In this report, different optical measurement methods are compared, three using the crack edges adjacent to the crack tip (defined in the ISO draft standard and ASTM standard) and one using the specimen surface grid lines. Differences in CTOA resulting from the various measurement methods are evaluated. The CTOAs for five different grades of gas pipeline steel are reported, and the effect of microstructure on CTOA is discussed.     

Investigation of process zone structure in Fe–3Si alloy

Abstract

An in situ fracture experiment was carried out in a scanning electron microscope to investigate plastic deformation and strain distribution in the process zone (PZ) located in the immediate vicinity of the crack tip in an Fe–3Si alloy (wt-%) under mixed mode loading conditions. It was observed that plastic deformation occurred by successive activation of a number of slip systems. The strain distribution and shape of the PZ were strongly dependent on the crystallographic orientation of the grain containing the crack tip. The distribution differed from that predicted using near tip blunting calculations and was best expressed by an exponential equation. Additional strain concentrations created by surface defects caused slight perturbations in the overall distribution. Crack propagation started along a coarse slip band which possessed the highest strain. It was found that the maximum strains in the PZ exceeded the uniaxial tensile fracture strain.

MST/1404