Ductile failure behavior of polycrystalline Al 6061-T6

Ductile failure in polycrystalline aluminum alloys is explored through uniaxial tension and notched tension experiments. Specimens obtained through tests interrupted at various stages of deformation and failure evolution are examined through microscopy to discern the mechanisms of failure and to evaluate the local strain evolution quantitatively. Fractographic observations are used to identify the onset and evolution of damage processes during deformation and failure of these aluminum alloys. Local strain levels are estimated from measurements of the change in grain size with deformation and used to indicate that the local values of failure strains are likely to be much larger than that estimated from strains averaged over characteristic specimen dimensions such as the gage length or the specimen diameter. Lower bound estimates of the failure strain at moderate triaxiliaties are obtained from the experiments.