Dynamic vs. quasi-static shear failure of high strength metallic alloys: Experimental issues

Ductile fracture of metals by void nucleation, growth and coalescence under positive stress triaxiality is well admitted. This is not the case when metals are submitted to negative stress triaxiality. The present work aims at contributing to a better understanding of the competition between micro-mechanisms at the origin of failure of metals when submitted to shear-pressure loading at low and high strain rates. With this aim in view, experiments were carried out on Ti–6Al–4V shear-compression samples involving a stress triaxiality range comprised between −0.2 and −0.5. Results show that the material failure is the consequence of a void growth induced process. At high strain rate, due to the localization of the deformation within adiabatic shear bands, the failure of the material occurs earlier, leading to maximum shear strain smaller at high strain rate than at low strain rate. Impact tests were also carried out on Kalthoff and Winkler type double notched plates. They showed that the interaction between tension and shear waves leads to a complex Mode I–Mode II crack propagation.