Continuum void nucleation model for Al-Mg alloy sheet based on measured particle distribution

Void nucleation within measured particle fields of an aluminum alloy is investigated to develop a continuum nucleation model which re ects nucleation at the individual particle scale. A nucleation model for heterogeneous particle distributions is synchronized with the continuum model of Chu and Needleman using the average nucleation strain. The parameters in the continuum model are identified from the particle fields and are evaluated over the range of stress states observed in sheet metal forming. The synchronized continuum nucleation model achieves very good agreement with the nucleation trends for three measured particle fields in uniaxial tension, plane strain, and equal-biaxial tension. © 2009 The Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.