Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of AA2024-T3 Aerospace Aluminum Alloy

Mechanical characterization and modeling of AA2024-T3 aerospace aluminum alloy Madhav Baral, Ph.D. (PI) Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Kentucky ABSTRACT Aluminum alloys are widely used in aerospace manufacturing due to their attractive mechanical and fracture properties. One of the most used alloys in aerospace is AA2024 aluminum alloy. Due to its excellent mechanical properties such as high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent fatigue resistance, AA2024 has a great potential for extensive use in spacecraft structures for NASA missions and aerospace applications. In this proposed work, mechanical behavior of AA2024-T3 aluminum alloy will be characterized using experiments and analysis. Though there has been a plethora of experiments and studies conducted on AA2024 alloys, these are mostly based on isotropic property assumption and uniaxial response of the material. There has been a limited study in understanding the anisotropic and complex material behavior under multiaxial response, resulting in lack of adequate parameters required to formulate a constitutive model. In this project, the material behavior of the alloy will be comprehensively characterized using mechanical testing scheme employing both uniaxial and multiaxial responses in tension and compression. Based on the experimental findings, a constitutive model will be adopted that can describe the material response to various mechanical loading conditions at different orientations with respect to the major material direction. The effectiveness of a constitutive model plays a key role in the predictive capabilities of numerical simulations of structures. The findings from this study will enhance the understanding of material behavior of this alloy, and aid in the design and optimization of parts and components for aerospace applications.