Growth and coalescence of penny-shaped voids in metallic alloys

The growth and coalescence of penny-shaped voids resulting from particle fracture is a common damage process for many metallic alloys. A three steps modeling strategy has been followed to investigate this specific failure process. Finite element cell calculations involving very flat voids shielded or not by a particle have been performed in order to enlighten the specific features of a damage mechanism starting with initially flat voids with respect to more rounded voids. An extended Gurson-type constitutive model supplemented by micromechanics-based criteria for both void nucleation and void coalescence is assessed for the limit of very flat voids towards the FE calculations. The constitutive model is then used to generate a parametric study of the effects of the stress state, the microstructure and the mechanical properties on the ductility. Based on these results, a simple closed-form model for the ductility is finally proposed. The main outcomes of this study are that (i) the ductility of metal alloys involving penny-shaped voids is primarily controlled by the relative void spacing; (ii) the definition of an effective porosity in terms of an equivalent population of spherical voids is valid for low particle volume fraction; (iii) the presence of a particle shielding the void does not significantly affect the void growth rates and void aspect evolution; (iv) early fracture by void coalescence can occur under very low stress triaxiality conditions if the particle volume fraction is large enough, explaining that some alloys and composites can fail through a transgranular ductile fracture mode under uniaxial tension condition before the onset of necking; (v) the fracture mechanism moves from void growth controlled to void nucleation controlled when increasing the void nucleation stress, lowering the stress triaxiality, and increasing the initial void aspect ratio. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.