Ductile rupture in thin sheets of two grades of 2024 aluminum alloy

The damage and rupture mechanisms of thin sheets of 2024 aluminum alloy (Al containing Cu, Mn, and Mg elements) are investigated. Two grades are studied: a standard alloy and a high damage tolerance alloy. The microstructure of each material is characterized to obtain the second phase volume content, the dimensions of particles and the initial void volume fraction. The largest particles consist of intermetallics. Mechanical tests are carried out on flat specimens including U-notched (with various notch radii), sharply V-notched and smooth tensile samples. Stable crack growth was studied using “Kahn samples” and pre-cracked large center-cracked tension panels M(T). The macroscopic fracture surface of the different specimens is observed using scanning electron microscopy. Smooth and moderately notched samples exhibit a slant fracture surface, which has an angle of about 45° with respect to the loading direction. With increasing notch severity, the fracture mode changes significantly. Failure initiates at the notch root in a small triangular region perpendicular to the loading direction. Outside this zone, slant fracture is observed. Microscopic observations show two failure micromechanisms. Primary voids are first initiated at intermetallic particles in both cases. In flat regions, i.e. near the notch root of severely notched samples, void growth is promoted and final rupture is caused by “internal necking” between the large cavities. In slanted regions these voids tend to coalesce rapidly according to a “void sheet mechanism” which leads to the formation of smaller secondary voids in the ligaments between the primary voids. These observations can be interpreted using finite element simulations. In particular, it is shown that crack growth occurs under plane strain conditions along the propagation direction.