Visualization of the damage evolution for Ti–3Al–2Mo–2Zr alloy during a uniaxial tensile process using a microvoids proliferation damage model

Abstract Understanding the damage evolution of alloys during a plastic deformation process is significant to the structural design of components and accident prevention. In order to visualize the damage evolution in the plastic deformation of Ti–3Al–2Mo–2Zr alloy, a series of uniaxial tensile experiments for this alloy were carried out under the strain rates of 0.1–10 s −1 at room temperature, and the stress–strain curves were achieved. On the other hand, the finite element (FE) models of these uniaxial tensile processes were established. A microvoids proliferation model, Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) damage model, was implanted into the uniaxial tensile models, and the simulated stress–strain curves corresponding to different GTN parameter combinations were obtained. Based on the simulated and experimental stress–strain curves, the GTN parameters of this alloy were solved by response surface methodology (RSM). The solved GTN parameters suggest that higher strain rate can enhance the proliferation and coalescence of microvoids. Furthermore, the uniaxial tensile tests over different strain rates were simulated using the solved GTN parameters. Then, the damage processes were visualized and evaluated. The result shows that the degradation speed of this alloy is slow at the initial stage of the tensile deformation and then accelerates once the voids volume fraction reaches a critical value.