Ductile Fracture Assessment of 304L Stainless Steel Using 3D X-ray Computed Tomography

Stainless steel manufactured by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) has been shown to exhibit significant differences in ductile fracture behavior when compared to equivalently graded forged steel, due to differences in oxide particle concentration between the two manufacture routes. Herein we analyse and quantify the ductile damage characteristics in the fracture process zone of equivalently graded forged and HIP 304L steel using 3D X-ray computed tomography (CT). Ductile void characteristics have been found to vary in size, shape, and spatial distribution; data which are in agreement with the differences in distribution of initiation particles in HIP and forged steel. Using advanced X-ray CT to characterize ductile damage, experimentally determined data can be employed to calibrate existing well-known ductile failure models, developing both our current understanding of ductile failure as well as a predictive tool to simulate fracture in novel HIP components.