Three‐dimensional finite element simulation of crack extension in aluminium alloy 2024fc

TLDR: In this article, a simulation of 3D crack extension using a cohesive zone model (CZM) has been carried out for a side-grooved compact tension specimen and a surface-crack tension specimen of aluminium 2024FC.

Abstract: A simulation of 3D crack extension using a cohesive zone model (CZM) has been carried out for a side-grooved compact tension specimen and a surface-crack tension specimen of aluminium 2024FC. Detailed finite element calculations were conducted by assuming crack extension only along the crack plane (mode I). For comparison, a 2D plane strain simulation is also presented. Load, displacement and crack extension histories are predicted and compared with the experiment. It is shown that the 2D approximation appears to agree reasonably well with experimental results, and that the 3D calculation gives very good agreement with test data. The determination of the CZM parameters is also discussed. Numerical results show that the CZM is a workable computational model which involves only a few microstructurally motivated phenomenological parameters for crack extension simulation.