Digital Image Correlation Analysis of Uniform Deformation and Necking in Solid-State Welded Nanocrystalline Aluminum via High-Pressure Torsion

Solid-state welding of Al 1043 sheets is achieved via high-pressure torsion (HPT) processing to produce bulk nanostructured Al disks. A homogeneous nanostructure without segregation is observed, with grain sizes of approximate to 430-470 nm. Miniature tensile testing, coupled with the digital image correlation (DIC) technique, is employed to determine the room-temperature tensile deformation behavior, particularly the nonuniform behavior with necking, of the HPT-bonded ultrafine-grained (UFG) aluminum, comparing it with annealed coarse-grained counterpart. The HPT-bonded UFG Al exhibits a large fraction of post-necking strain, which is supported by the estimated high strain rate sensitivity value of m = 0.085, suggesting the delay of local necking leading to tensile fracture. Detailed DIC analysis reveals prolonged diffuse necking, thus delaying local necking, in the HPT-bonded UFG Al, while the annealed samples show high fractions of local necking during the nonuniform deformation. Moreover, the DIC data illustrate that local necking predominantly occurred at a limited neck zone, maintaining a plateau strain distribution at the out-of-neck zone throughout necking deformation toward tensile failure for both annealed and UFG aluminum. The DIC method offers an alternative means to demonstrate the transition in necking behaviors of materials by estimating the plastic lateral contraction exponent. This report demonstrates miniature tensile testing coupled with DIC analysis of solid-state welded bulk nanostructured Al alloy through HPT. This study fully utilizes DIC-generated strain data to quantitatively determine the flow and necking behaviors of nanostructured materials, aiming to enhance comprehensive understanding and explore further opportunities to determine the superior ductility of UFG metals.image (c) 2024 WILEY-VCH GmbH