Tensile specimen geometry and the constitutive behavior of Zircaloy-4

The influence of tensile specimen geometry on the deformation behavior of flat Zircaloy-4 tensile specimens has been examined for gauge length-to-width ratios that range from 1:1 to 4:1. Specimen geometry has only minor effects on the values of the yield stress, tensile strength, apparent uniform strain at maximum load, and strain-hardening exponent. However, in all geometries but the 4:1 configuration, diffuse necking occurs before maximum load. As a result, strain distributions at maximum load are uniform only in the 4:1 geometry. The elongation to failure is also affected by specimen geometry with the shorter gauge sections exhibiting much higher total elongation values, due in large part to the concomitant specimen necking behavior.