J. David Embury

Fracture of a brittle particulate composite

Previous models for crack-particle interactions in brittle composites are modified to account for penetrable obstacles, obstacle shape and secondary crack interactions. The modified model is applied to a glass-unbonded nickel sphere composite system, the experimental aspects of which were summarized in Part 1. Increases in fracture energy are explained in terms of local crack blunting. It is shown that these results fall, as expected, between those for an entirely sharp crack front and an entirely blunt one.

Microstructural Design for Advanced Structural Steels

In this work we have outlined the use of micromechanical models which can rationalize the behaviour of a number of structural steels by including both static and dynamic length scales and considering the interaction of the phases. The approach treats the steels as composites but includes the influence of both volume fractions and physically based length scales and processes. In essence it can be extended to utilise the methodology outlined by Ashby&al. to include length scales in the development diagrams of composite materials.

Microstructural Aspects of Damage and Fracture in AZ31 Sheet Materials

There are considerable data in the literature dealing with deformation mechanisms in AZ31 sheets. However, there is little information on the damage and fracture processes in this material. In this contribution, digital image correlation is used to follow deformation patterns occurring during tensile and v-bending tests at room temperature. A variety of surface analysis techniques and three-dimensional x-ray tomography have been used to examine the relationship between deformation, damage initiation, and the final fracture processes. The results show that premature diffuse necking occurs in the tensile tests without transit into localized necking. Deformation twins cluster by an autocatalytic process to form shear bands serving as preferential sites for strain localization and crack initiation. Damage appears in the form of microcracks within the shear bands at a late stage of necking and lead to the final fracture. The presence and the distribution of second-phase particles and their distributions help accelerate the final fracture processes.

The Work Hardening of Single Phase and Multi-Phase Aluminium Alloys

The process of work hardening in aluminum alloys is important from the viewpoint of formability and the prediction of the properties of highly deformed products. However the complexity of the strengthening mechanisms in these materials means that one must carefully consider the interaction of dislocations with the detailed elements of the microstructure and the related influence of the elements on dislocation accumulation and dynamic recovery. In addition, it is necessary to consider the influence of the work hardening process at various levels of plastic strain. This permits the possibility of designing microstructure for tailored plastic response, e.g. not simply designed for yield strength but also considering uniform elongation, spring-back, ductility etc. This presentation will explore the concept of identifying the various interactions which govern the evolution of the work hardening and their possible role in alloy design.

Local Strain Measurement in a Strip Cast Automotive Aluminum Alloy Sheet

Local strain measurement based on digital image correlation at both macroscopic and microscopic scales is presented. A speckle pattern was used for the macroscopic strain mapping to reveal the inhomogeneous deformation processes occurring during tensile deformation of a strip cast automotive aluminum sheet. Moreover, a novel microscopic strain mapping technique based on scanning electron microscopic (SEM) topography image correlation was introduced for strain mapping down to the grain level. The SEM images taken from an in-situ tensile sample of the same material within a field emission SEM chamber are used to demonstrate the validity of the method. The results clearly reveal the evolution of local strain of order of one as well as the formation of shear band in the material.

Investigation on Mechanism of Ductile Fracture of AA5754 Sheet

A number of mechanical tests and metallographic techniques have been used to investigate the mechanism of ductile fracture of AA5754 sheet. The sequence of events in the development of shear localization is clarified using in situ strain mapping on both the sample surface and through thickness direction during tensile tests. It is observed that the failure mode changes from cup-cone type to shearing with increasing Fe content in both continuous cast (CC) and direct-chill cast (DC) AA5754 sheets. However, this transition happens in CC with much lower Fe content than DC. As very little damage is found near the fracture surface, this suggests that damage may be a consequence of the shear process rather than a trigger that determines material ductility. For both CC and DC with same Fe content of 0.21%, fracture strain of CC is much lower than DC. It is postulated that this is due to the differences of particle distribution in these two materials, especially the increased fraction of stringer type structures which exist in CC material.

Modeling the Role of Microstructure on Shear Instability with Reference to the Formability of Automotive Aluminium Alloys

This paper addresses the effect of microstructure on the formability of aluminium alloys of interest for automotive sheet applications. The bulk of this work has been on the alloy AA5754 – both conventional DC cast alloys and continuous cast alloys made by twin belt casting. It is known that alloys such as these contain Fe as a tramp impurity which results in Fe-based intermetallic particles distributed through microstructure as isolated particles and in stringers aligned along the rolling direction. It is thought that these particles are the cause, both of the reduced ductility that is observed as the Fe level rises, and the relatively poor formability of strip cast alloys, as compared with those made by DC cast. Conventional wisdom suggests that the reduction of ductility is due to the effect of particles as nucleating sites for damage. However, most studies show that these materials are resistant to damage until just before fracture. We now believe that effect is actually related to the development of shear bands in these materials. We present experimental data which supports this conclusion. We then show how the FE models we have developed demonstrate the role of shear instability on fracture and the role played by hard particles. We show how a unit cell approach can be used to incorporate the effect of particle density and morphology on shear localization in a way that includes statistical variability due to microstructural heterogeneity. This leads to a set of constitutive equations in which the parameters are distributed from one region to another. These are then fed into a macroscopic FE model at the level of the specimen or the component in order to determine the effect of microstructural variability on shear instability and ductility.

Improved Multiple Ageing Treatments for AA6111

The effects of multiple ageing treatments on the precipitation hardening response of aluminium alloy AA6111 has been studied by varying the first stage ageing temperature and period systematically. The effects of intermediate low temperature ageing dwell time were also studied. Throughout this work, the final ageing temperature was restricted to 180°C in order to coincide with the temperature used for the paint-baking cycle in the industry. It is found that with proper multiple ageing treatments, the kinetics of the age hardening response can be reduced from 8 hours to 4 hours and that the peak hardness can be increased from 128HV to 132HV.

Delineating the Role of Second Phase Particles in AA6111

The application of 6000 series alloys is widespread and of particular importance to the automotive sector. Their functionality depends on the detailed behaviour of the strengthening phases. In this study, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) supplemented with a variety of mechanical tests were used to examine the precipitates and their role in aspects such as the Bauschinger effect, damage and fracture events, and in recovery and recrystallization processes.

The Behavior of Intermetallic Compounds at Large Plastic Strains

Much effort has been devoted to the study of ordered materials at modest plastic strains and the problem of premature failure. However by utilizing stress states other than simple tension it is possible to study the deformation of intermetallic compounds up to large plastic strains and to consider the behavior of these materials in the regime where stresses approach the theoretical stress. The current work outlines studies of the work hardening rate of a number of titanium and nickel-based intermetallic compounds deformed in compression. Attention is given to the structural basis of the sustained work hardening. The large strain plasticity of these materials is summarized in a series of diagrams. Fracture in these materials in compression occurs via catastrophic shear at stresses of the order of E/80 (where E is the elastic modulus).