Collaborative ductile rupture mechanisms of high-purity copper identified by in situ X-ray computed tomography

Abstract The competition between ductile rupture mechanisms in high-purity Cu and other metals is sensitive to the material composition and loading conditions, and subtle changes in the metal purity can lead to failure either by void coalescence or Orowan Alternating Slip (OAS). In situ X-ray computed tomography tensile tests on 99.999% purity Cu wires have revealed that the rupture process involves a sequence of damage events including shear localization; growth of micron-sized voids; and coalescence of microvoids into a central cavity prior to the catastrophic enlargement of the coalesced void via OAS. This analysis has shown that failure occurs in a collaborative rather than strictly competitive manner. In particular, strain localization along the shear band enhanced void nucleation and drove the primary coalescence event, and the size of the resulting cavity and consumption of voids ensured a transition to the OAS mechanism rather than continued void coalescence. Additionally, the tomograms identified examples of void coalescence and OAS growth of individual voids at all stages of the failure process, suggesting that the transition between the different mechanisms was sensitive to local damage features, and could be swayed by collaboration with other damage mechanisms. The competition between the different damage mechanisms is discussed in context of the material composition, the local damage history, and collaboration between the mechanisms.