A simulation of void linking during ductile microvoid fracture

A computer model has been developed in order to simulate the low temperature ductile fracture of metals which contain arrays of holes or voids. Based on two-dimensional arrays of holes, the simulation models the step-wise character of the strain-induced hole linking process assuming an initial hole microstructure, localized plasticity near holes, and a strain-based criterion for failure of ligaments between holes. Given the above, the analysis predicts failure strains for a range of hole distributions. A comparison of experimentally determined fracture strains of aluminum and brass sheets containing distributions of holes as well as of metals containing porosity agree well with those predicted from the computer model. he simulation may also be considered to be a simplified representation of the complex, three-dimensional void linking process in real materials, and as such, it illustrates the effects of non-uniform spatial distributions of voids on the linking. © 1990