Development and verification of conditions for ductile tearing instability and arrest

Objective of this work was to take an in-depth look at the process of ductile tearing instability, and especially to evaluate experimentally the conditions for arrest of a ductile tearing instability. A secondary objective was to evaluate the sensitivity of a ductile tearing instability arrest to rate at which it occurred and to the material rate sensitivity. Major conclusions are that the ductile tearing instability initiates slowly, but in a mechanical spring apparatus it approaches drop tower growth rate conditions, and hence the phenomena is effected by the material rate sensitivity. The conditions necessary for arrest are completely stated and demonstrated by experimental data on a 3% Ni structural steel