Void growth in 6061-aluminum alloy under triaxial stress state

In numerous metals and alloys, ductile fracture involves void nucleation, growth, and coalescence. In this contribution, void growth has been quantitatively characterized in an extruded 6061-wrought Al-alloy as a function of stress state in notch tensile test specimens. Digital image analysis and Stereology have been used to estimate the volume fraction and three-dimensional number density of voids in a series of interrupted notch tensile test specimens where the local stress state is predominantly triaxial. Finite elements (FE) simulations have been used to compute the stress states at different locations in the specimens. The computed stress states and experimentally estimated average void volume are utilized to verify analytical void growth models. Lack of agreement between the predictions of the models and the experimental data is due to interactions between neighboring voids, which are ignored in the theoretical models, and continuous void nucleation. The following empirical damage evolution equation is obtained from the experimental data on void volume fraction expressed as % (f ), and the corresponding local equivalent plastic strain (op) and stress triaxiality (I ) computed from FE simulations: f /a /b ln[op] /cI . In this equation, a , b and c are empirical constants whose values depend on the alloy chemistry, heat treatment, and microstructure. The equation is useful only for 6061(T6) Al-alloy. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.