Intergranular fracture in some precipitation-hardened aluminum alloys at low temperatures

Intergranular fracture at low temperatures from room temperature down to 4.2 K has been studied in some precipitation-hardened aluminum alloys. Microscopic appearance of intergranular facets is revealed to be greatly affected by the microstructure adjacent to the grain boundaries (GBs). When large precipitates on GBs and wide precipitation-free zones (PFZs) are present, coalescence of microvoids initiated at the GB precipitates causes the intergranular fracture with dimples. This fracture process is found to be unaffected by deformation temperature. On the other hand, in the presence of fine precipitates on GBs and narrow PFZs, matrix slip localization exerts significant influence on the fracture behavior. At low temperatures, large stress concentration at GBs leads to intergranular fracture, forming sharp ledges on the fracture surfaces, while at room temperature, the dynamic recovery process is thought to relax such stress concentration, resulting in a transgranular ''ductile'' rupture.