Ductile crack initiation and propagation assessed via in situ synchrotron radiation-computed laminography

Ductile crack initiation and propagation within a naturally aged aluminium alloy sheet has been observed in situ via synchrotron radiation-computed laminography, a technique specifically adapted to three-dimensional imaging of thin objects that are laterally extended. Voids and intermetallic particles, and their subsequent evolution during ductile crack extension at different associated levels of stress triaxiality, were clearly observed within fracture coupons of a reasonable engineering length-scale, overcoming the conventional sample size limitation of computed tomography at high resolutions. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.