National Symposium on Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics), Jacksonville, Florida Experimental Characterization and Simulation of Slip Transfer at Grain Boundaries and Microstructurally-Sensitive Crack Propagation

A systematic study of crack tip interaction with grain boundaries is critical for improvement of multiscale modeling of microstructurally-sensitive fatigue crack propagation and for the computationally-assisted design of more durable materials. In this study, single, biand large-grain multi-crystal specimens of an aluminum-copper alloy are fabricated, characterized using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), and deformed under tensile loading and nano-indentation. 2D image correlation (IC) in an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) is used to measure displacements near crack tips, grain boundaries and within grain interiors. The role of grain boundaries on slip transfer is examined using nanoindentation in combination with high-resolution EBSD. The use of detailed IC and EBSD-based experiments are discussed as they relate to crystal-plasticity finite element (CPFE) model calibration and validation. *Corresponding Author. Address: 100 Exploration Way, Hampton, VA 23666-6147, USA. Tel: +1 (757) 864 6355, Fax: +1 (757) 864 8911; Email: [email protected].