An Experimental Study Evaluating Macroscopic Cavity Interactions as a Model of Microvoid Ductility

An experimental study of the interactions between macroscopic cavities was conducted. The goal was to determine simple cavity arrangements producing deformations similar to commonly observed features of ductile fracture. The production of cavity-centered fracture surface features and ligament thinning, representative of the type observed around and between microvoids on ductile fracture surfaces, were the specific objectives of this macroscopic study. The specimens employed were cylindrical tension specimens containing from one to six coplanar radial holes, with spherical end profiles, located at the center of the specimen and either zero or one cylindrical holelocated on the longitudinal axis of the specimen. The results of this parametric study identified the two specimens that best produced the desired features. The load-displacement results of these experiments also illustrate the effect of cavity geometry on the net strength and ductility of the array system. Specimens of these designs provide a future basis for simple and economical model studies of void interactions.