Experimental and numerical study on the tensile ductility of an aluminium alloy with heat-affected zones

In the case of aluminium structures, welding may introduce weak zones, so-called heat -affected zones (HAZ), close to the weld. Such zones should be accounted for when predicting the overall behaviour of structures since the deformation tends to localise within such weak zones leading to the initiation of failure. Whereas the effect of welding on mechanical properties such as yield stress and work hardening is known, the ductility of a HAZ and how to model it in numerical simulations remain uncertain. To address this challenge, this article presents a combined experimental and numerical study on ductile fracture modelling of an aluminium alloy AA6063T6 exposed to complex heat treatments. The first part includes preparation of specimens and uniaxial tension testing. A Gleeble machine is used to generate well-defined heat treatments involving high peak temperatures and heating rates. Subsequently, uniaxial tension tests at low and high strain rates are conducted. The results show the effect of the complex heat treatments on strength, strain -rate sensitivity, and fracture. The numerical part of this study concerns two widely used damage models, namely the Cockcroft-Latham fracture criterion and the Gurson-Tvergaard model. Calibration of material models and a parameter study are carried out based on analyses of the tension tests. To this end, a case study is conducted elaborating on the importance of the damage parameters within an idealised heat -affected zone and plane -strain tension. The main objective of this study is to obtain a more general understanding of ductile fracture modelling of aluminium alloys exposed to complex heat treatments representative of welding.