A complete characterization of THE fracture forming limits in bulk forming by means of an upset geometry sequence

This paper presents an upset geometry sequence to determine the fracture forming limits in a wide variety of strain loading paths ranging from uniaxial compression to equibiaxial tension. The strains at fracture in principal strain space are obtained by combination of digital image correlation and experimental evolutions of the compression force versus time, and their representation in the effective strain versus stress triaxiality space is accomplished by means of a new analytical framework that uses the instantaneous slope of the strain loading paths. Modeling of the experimental strains at fracture by means of an uncoupled ductile fracture criterion built upon combination of the Cockcroft-Latham and McClintock criteria and fractography analysis using a scanning electron microscope allow understanding and characterizing the crack opening modes by shear and tension as well as the uncertainty region inside which mixed crack opening modes are observed. Results confirm that the overall philosophy and objectives underlying the new upset geometry sequence for determining the fracture forming limits in bulk forming resemble those of the Nakajima test that is commonly used in sheet forming.