Papers by Author: David S. Wilkinson

Abstract: The local elastic and plastic strain during deformation are very complicated and different form the macroscopic strain, because most materials have inhomogeneous microstructure. In this study, local strain distribution in three dimensions has been measured using the new developed method based on image analysis in high-resolution synchrotron radiation computed tomography (SR-CT). Model and practical specimens, which made of cupper alloy and aluminum alloy, respectively, were prepared for a development procedure and application of local strain measurements. Gauging intervals of microstructural features before and after deformation gave us information of inhomogeneous local strain distribution in three dimensions. High strain was observed in a necking region appeared after tensile deformation in the model sample. A combination of non-destructive measurements by SR-CT and three-dimensional analysis revealed inhomogeneous strain distributions in practical aluminum samples.

Abstract: A tracking procedure for the high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT) has been developed in order to measure 3-D local strain within a deforming material in high-density. A dispersion-strengthened copper alloy model sample with alumina particles, which contains micropores, was visualized by the synchrotron radiation CT. The pores observed in reconstructed CT volumes were used as tracking markers. The developed tracking method using a set of matching parameters, which classifies matched, pended and rejected markers, exhibited high ratio of success tracking. Furthermore, the ratio was improved by applying the spring model method, which is one of the particle image velocity (PIV) methods utilized in the field of the fluid mechanics, to the pended markers. The method based on the image analysis of CT imaging volumes provides us 3-D high-density strain mapping.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: The occurrence of intense shear band is a prelude to failure in many Al-sheet materials. In the present study, a full field optical system measurement technique (digital image correlation) and the finite element method are used to characterize the sequence of deformation in uniaxial tension before and after the intense shear band formation in AA6111-T4. The results indicate good agreement between the measurement and the predictions in terms of shear band width, strain distribution along the gauge length and the failure mode.