Analysis of the damage evolution in steel specimens under tension by means of XRTC

Abstract

When a steel specimen is tested under tension, damage usually develops evenly all along the specimen, finally necking and leading to the typical cup-cone fracture surface. Nevertheless, some steels present an unusual fracture pattern consisting on a plane fracture surface with a dark region in the centre of the fracture zone. In this contribution, the authors analyse the evolution of the internal damage by using X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) on 3mm-diametre specimens of two steels. The specimens are tested in subsequent loading steps, after each of which it is unloaded and analysed with XRCT. This procedure helps to identify the evolution of damage developed inside each specimen at predefined strain levels. XRCT reveals a very high initial porosity in the material with the cup-cone fracture pattern and a very low initial porosity in the other. In the latter, fracture is triggered by a concentrated internal damage that can be seen as an internal notch which produces a stress concentration that leads to the eventual failure.