Experiments and FEM simulations of fracture behaviors for ADC12 aluminum alloy under impact load

Using the combination of experiment and simulation, the fracture behavior of the brittle metal named ADC12 aluminum alloy was studied. Five typical experiments were carried out on this material, with responding data collected on different stress states and dynamic strain rates. Fractographs revealed that the morphologies of fractured specimen under several rates showed different results, indicating that the fracture was predominantly a brittle one in nature. Simulations of the fracture processes of those specimens were conducted by Finite Element Method, whilst consistency was observed between simulations and experiments. In simulation, the Johnson- Cook model was chosen to describe the damage development and to predict the failure using parameters determined from those experimental data. Subsequently, an ADC12 engine mount bracket crashing simulation was conducted and the results indicated good agreement with the experiments. The accordance showed that our research can provide an accurate description for the deforming and fracture processes of the studied alloy.