Experimental study of liquid metal embrittlement for the aluminum 7075-mercury couple

    Authors

    S. G. Keller;A. P. Gordon

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Eng. Fract. Mech.

    Keywords

    Fracture; Stress-intensity; Embrittlement; Incubation; Corrosion; CRACK-GROWTH BEHAVIOR; MERCURY EMBRITTLEMENT; 7075-T651 ALUMINUM; ALLOY; PROPAGATION; MECHANISMS; GA; AL; Mechanics

    Abstract

    Embrittlement of ductile structural members, whether under the presence of static or cyclic loading, can occur when surrounded by a corrosive environment. Several examples of catastrophic failures due to a form of environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) are available, with the failures of Liberty Ship hulls most commonly referred. Liquid metal embrittlement (LME) is a subset of EAC that results in the embrittlement of structural materials when intimately contacted by specific liquid metals. Several theories exist with the goal of identifying the key microstructural failure mechanism; however, most cannot account for all solid-liquid couples and do not incorporate a form of load dependency. Static and dynamic mechanical testing of notched and cracked specimens, respectively, was implemented to identify the dominant microstructural failure mechanisms and incorporate a load dependency on the life expectation of components. Results reveal crack initiation life behavior that is dependent on the time and load that the structural component remains subjected to LME conditions. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Journal Title

    Engineering Fracture Mechanics

    Volume

    84

    Publication Date

    1-1-2012

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    146

    Last Page

    160

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000302847700011

    ISSN

    0013-7944

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