SIMULATION OF STRAIN LOCALIZATION AND FRACTURE BETWEEN HOLES IN AN ALUMINUM SHEET

THE INTERACTION between 40 randomly spaced holes in an aluminum sheet in uniaxial tension is analysed using the finite element method. The model simulates local fracture by element removal at a critical thickness strain. The load bearing capacity and the fracture strain are both reduced significantly from the behavior of a sheet with a periodic array of holes. This agrees with published experiments. The predicted fracture path also follows experimental results. The model clearly shows long range interactions between clusters of holes which act in concert either to mitigate or to enhance the deformation within the clusters of holes. The interactions depend on the hole spacing and the relative orientation of the clusters with respect to the tensile axis.