Publications

An attempt to calibrate and validate a simple ductile failure model against axial-torsion experiments on Al 6061-T651

Reedlunn, Benjamin R.; Lu, Wei-Yang L.

This report details a work in progress. We have attempted to calibrate and validate a Von Mises plasticity model with the Johnson-Cook failure criterion ( Johnson & Cook , 1985 ) against a set of experiments on various specimens of Al 6061-T651. As will be shown, the effort was not successful, despite considerable attention to detail. When the model was com- pared against axial-torsion experiments on tubes, it over predicted failure by 3 x in tension, and never predicted failure in torsion, even when the tube was twisted by 4 x further than the experiment. While this result is unfortunate, it is not surprising. Ductile failure is not well understood. In future work, we will explore whether more sophisticated material mod- els of plasticity and failure will improve the predictions. Selecting the appropriate advanced material model and interpreting the results of said model are not trivial exercises, so it is worthwhile to fully investigate the behavior of a simple plasticity model before moving on to an anisotropic yield surface or a similarly complicated model.