Fractographic analysis of fatigue damage in 7000 aluminium alloys

In this paper, an attempt is made to correlate the fatigue damage in 7000 aluminium alloys with different impurity contents to the microstructural features and to explain their interdependence through fractographic observations. The Paris constants of these alloys in the form of hot-forged plates subjected to the overaged T73 temper are evaluated and differences in the fatigue crack growth rate described by striation spacing measurements. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of fatigue fracture surfaces revealed that the type and morphological parameters of coarse intermetallic particles play a critical role in fatigue crack growth behaviour. The elemental distribution determined by means of energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis showed that the fractured particles accelerating the crack advances are larger particles of Fe-rich phases. The fatigue crack growth rate increases considerably with increasing amounts of these particles. The smaller η, S and Mg2Si particles contribute beneficially to fatigue life

The influences of multiscale-sized second-phase particles on fracture behaviour of overaged 7000 alloys

AbstractTo identify the most important parameters of multiscale microstructural features influencing the fracture modes and resistance to damage, detailed microstructural and fractographic analysis of overaged 7000 alloy plates are performed using the broken planestrain fracture toughness, KIc, test specimens. The geometric characteristics of differently sized second-phase particles are changed by the compositional variations. It was found that the fracture process involves three main micromechanisms. The dominant fracture mode changes with alloy purity, leading to fracture toughness degradation. Quantitative description of fractures by profilometry confirmed that crack initiation and propagation is fostered by the coarse Fe- and Si-rich particles

Influence of notch radius and microstructure on the fracture behavior of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys of different purity

The influence of notch radius on the fracture behavior of two high-strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys with different Fe content in the T73 condition was investigated. The fracture toughness tests were performed on non-fatigue-precracked notched bending specimens with different notch radii ranged from 0.15 mm to 1.0 mm. The obtained data were interpreted using the concept of Notch Fracture Mechanics combined with finite-element method (FEM) calculations. It was found that both alloys are very sensitive to the notch radius. The fracture toughness increases with increasing notch radius. For a given notch radii, the increase in fracture toughness is more significant for the more pure alloy. The fracture behavior of investigated alloys with respect to microstructural features and their relation with the fracture micromechanisms were analyzed