In the present study, observations of fracture process in aluminum were carried out by using a scanning exo-electron emission microscope. The distribution of the intensity of exo-electron emission near the notch root was also investigated.
The intensity of exo-electron emission increased gradually with an increase of tensile strain up to the strain at muximum load. A significantly rapid increase in the intensity of exo-electron emission was found near the maximum load point, and then the intensity was saturated. From the results for the notched specimens, it was found that the crack initiation point coincided almost with the intersection of two tangent lines of the intensity of exo-electron emission versus displacement curve, one of which is in the region where the intensity increases rapidly and the other is in the region where the intensity is saturated.