Experimental study of fast ductile crack growth in aluminium alloy 2014 panels

Abstract

An experimental investigation into the crack propagation in aluminium alloy 2014 is described. Panels, 120 mm wide by 300 mm long were pre-loaded to a constant force applied by two identical compressed gas cylinders following which a crack was induced by forcing open a pre-machined notch with a wedge travelling at approximately 30 m/s. The crack growth was recorded by high-speed photography. The crack tip opening angle of a rapidly propagating crack was measured from plain flat specimens. In addition, crack arrestors in the form of slots and ribs have been studied. The results highlight the effect of rolling direction of the material and constitute a basis for the validation of numerical modelling tools.