Grain Size Effect on Fracture Behavior of the Axis-Tensile Test of Inconel 718 Sheet

Abstract

Change in mechanical parts from macro-size to micro-size has become a trend in the metal- and alloy-forming process, with an increasing demand on micro-parts in the last decades. The material mechanical behaviors of micro-size parts are quite different from the conventional ones of macro-size parts due to size effect. It is necessary to further investigate the effects of grain size on material mechanisms in micro-scales, especially fracture behaviors. The fracture behaviors of Inconel 718 sheet with the thickness of 300 μm are studied by uniaxial tensile tests in different grain sizes ranging from 18 to 130 μm. The results show that fracture stress and strain decrease with the increase of grain size. A critical value in the specimen thickness (t) to grain size (d) ratio divides the strength levels into separate stages on the basis of an increase of the inverse of grain size. In addition, the grain size-dependent fracture morphology is changed in the number of dimples and micro-voids decreasing on the fracture surfaces and the sizes of micro-voids changing larger with the increase of grain size.