An investigation of plastic fracture in aluminum alloys

The brittle fracture of many high strength alloys such as steel, titanium, and aluminum was shown to occur by a process called plastic fracture. According to this process microscopic voids form at impurity particles, then grow and coalesce to cause the final rupture. To further understand the role of impurities, four aluminum alloys were investigated: 2024-T851, 2124-T851, 7075-T7351 and 7079-T651. Fractography, quantitative metallography, and microprobe studies assessed the roles of various impurity particles relative to these alloys.