Author(s)

R.E. Clegg & P.D. King

Abstract

Many Al-Li alloys exhibit low fracture toughness, particularly in the T-L direction. One mechanism proposed to account for this is liquid metal induced embrittlement (LMIE) resulting from the presence of a liquid NaK (impurity) phase. In this study, the effect of test temperature on the impact behaviour of an Al-Li alloy containing controlled amounts of NaK is examined. This is compared with the behaviour of the same alloy fractured under quasi-static conditions. Finally, the crack propagation behaviour in the presence of liquid NaK of a similar, non-lithium containing alloy, 2024, is studied using short double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens and a da/dt vs K diagram for the sy

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