Fracture toughness of quaternary Al-Li-Cu-Mg alloy under mode I, mode II, and mode III loading conditions

The fracture toughness under mode I, mode II, and mode III loading conditions was evaluated for a quaternary 8090 Al-Li-Cu-Mg alloy in underaged and peak-aged conditions. The effect of aging was found to be significantly different for different loading conditions. The alloy in the underaged (T3) condition exhibited minimum fracture toughness under mode II loading, whereas mode I fracture toughness was the lowest in the case of the peak-aged (T8E51) condition. Significant anisotropy in the fracture resistance is observed only in case of the peak-aged alloy under mode I loading, whereas in all other cases, the fracture resistance is found to be isotropic. The fracture mode was transgranular shear in all three modes of loading in the underaged condition as well as under mode II and mode III loading in the peak-aged condition. The alloy exhibited ductile intergranular fracture under mode I loading in the peak-aged condition. The results obtained are explained on the basis of these dominant fracture mechanisms prevalent under different loading conditions.