Fracture resistance and splitting mechanism in aluminum alloy 5083-O at cryogenic temperatures

XX Li and F Yanagimoto and CJ Yu and S Uranaka and T Kawabata, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY, 165, 150769 (2025).

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.150769

Hot-rolled aluminum alloy 5083-O is a promising candidate for storage- tank material in liquefied hydrogen (LH2) maritime transportation working under extreme cryogenic conditions. This study investigated cryogenic fracture resistance of AA5083-O and explored the formation mechanism of split cracks that occurred in compact tension (C(T)) specimens. C(T) tests in longitudinal-transverse (L-T) orientation exhibited a 90.8 % enhancement of fracture toughness as the testing temperature decreased from 293 K to 123 K, followed by a 54.0 % reduction at 4 K, coinciding with formation of split cracks. Tests in short transverse-longitudinal (S-L) orientations presented a 44.9 % reduction of fracture toughness compared to L-T specimens at 293 K. Microstructural characterization identified precipitate Al6(Fe, Mn) aligned along the L direction as a critical contributor to both the split-crack nucleation and intergranular propagation. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) calculation and finite element method (FEM) were employed to simulate mechanical interactions between the single-crystal aluminum matrix and the precipitate.

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