A series of plate-impact experiments were performed to study the damage characteristics of incipient spall in ultrapure aluminum (99.999%). Surface profile measurement system based on the axial chromatic aberration was used to measure the cross section of “soft-recovered” samples and reconstruct the metallographic and 3D surface topography. Statistical analyses show that the size distribution, coalescence condition and connectivity factor of the voids are regularly affected by loading conditions. Based on this finding, the mechanisms that control the damage properties and evolution process of dynamic fracture are analyzed in detail. The results of this research offer an experimental quantitative microstructure description of the ductile fracture process.
