Damage evolution during fracture by correlative microscopy with hyperspectral electron microscopy and laboratory-based microtomography

Damage evolution during fracture of metals is a critical factor in determining the reliability and integrity of the infrastructure that the society relies upon. However, experimental techniques for directly observing these phenomena have remained challenged. We have addressed this gap by developing a correlative microscopy framework combining high-resolution hyperspectral electron microscopy with laboratory x-ray microtomography (XMT) and applied it to study fracture mechanisms in a steel inclusion system. We observed damage nucleation and growth to be inhomogeneous and anisotropic. Fracture resistance was observed to be controlled by inclusion distribution and the size scale of an inclusion-depleted zone. Furthermore, our studies demonstrate that laboratory XMT can characterize damage to the micrometer scale with a large field of view in dense metals like steel, offering a more accessible alternative to synchrotron-based tomography. The framework presented provides a means to broadly adopt correlative microscopy for studies of degradation phenomena and help accelerate discovery of new materials solutions.