Dynamic void collapse in crystals: Computational modelling and experiments

Abstract

Localization of inelastic flow and crack initiation in fee single crystals are studied experimentally and by numerical simulations, focusing on the anisotropic inelastic response of the crystal, and the mechanism of possible crack initiation and growth, produced upon unloading by the residual inhomogeneous plastic strains. Hollow circular cylinders of single-crystal copper are subjected to externally applied explosive loads which cause the collapse of the cylinder; this procedure is called the thick-walled cylinder (TWC) method. Then, numerical simulations are performed to understand the deformation process which leads to localized deformation, and tensile cracking when partial collapse is followed by unloading. Various loads and initial orientations of the lattice are examined in these numerical simulations in order to study their effects on the flow localization and crack initiation phenomena.