Numerical simulation of deformation and fracture in low-carbon steel coated by diffusion borating

Numerical simulation of tensile mechanical behavior of low-carbon steel test piece surface-hardened by diffusion borating is performed to investigate the effect of stress concentration on the mesoscale plastic-deformation pattern. The computer simulations under review employ low-carbon steel as a substrate material with FeB₂ serving as a surface-hardened layer. The computations are performed for representative mesovolumes based on real experimentally revealed structure with an intermediate layer of different configurations. A model taking into account crack formation is applied to investigate coating fracture. The results obtained are presented and discussed.     

The effect of the irregular interface geometry in deformation and fracture of a steel substrate–boride coating composite

Presented in this paper is a computational analysis of the mechanisms involved in plastic deformation and fracture of a composite with coating under compressive and tensile loading. Using a steel specimen surface-hardened by diffusion borating, a role of the irregular geometry of the interface between the base material and hardened surface layer is investigated. In order to describe the mechanical behavior of the steel substrate and brittle coating, use is made of a plastic flow model including isotropic strain hardening and a fracture model, respectively. Using the Huber fracture criterion, the model takes into account the difference in the critical strength values for different types of local compressive and tensile states. It is shown that the irregular, serrated shape of the substrate–coating interface retards propagation of a longitudinal crack into this coating and prevents it from spalling under external compression of this composite. It is found out that even in the case of a simple uniaxial compression of the mesovolumes of this composite the boride “teeth” are subjected to tensile stresses, whose values are comparable with those of the external compressive load, and the direction of crack propagation and the general fracture behavior largely depend on the external loading conditions.     

Mesoscale deformation and cracking of surface-hardened low carbon steel

Mesoscale deformation patterns of surface-hardened low-carbon steel is investigated by using the television-optical measuring technique (TOMSC-1). Surface hardening was performed by diffusion borating to produce a hardened layer with a heterogeneous structure. Plastic flow at the mesoscale level was observed for primary mesovolume in the form of triangular prism. Self-organization of neighboring primary mesovolume gives rise to formation specimen macrostructure. At certain thickness of borated layer, the tensile elongation is increased by 30% for specimens with brittle-hardened layer when compared with unhardened specimens.     

Localized deformation and fracture of polycrystals at mesolevel

Recent experiments have shown that shear band formation and rotation of structural elements at the mesolevel are fundamental to the development of plastic deformation and fracture of solids. Attention should be focused on a mesovolume of deformed material because the local stress and strain differ from those averaged at the macroscale. The discrete nature of the microshears and restricted deformation of the mesofragments should be accounted for. Rotation of the different mesofragments being parts of a grain, grains, grain conglomerates, etc., plays an important role in plasticity. Moreover, knowledge of the local parameters is needed for developing plasticity theories and fracture criteria. Models have been proposed within the framework of the physical mesomechanics. They take into account structural elements of different scales for simulating shear band nucleation and propagation in addition to mesofragment rotations. Calculations have been made for different mesovolumes under dynamic loading. In this work, a new criterion of plasticity is considered at the mesolevel. It accounts for the nucleation of plastic shears at the surfaces and interaction of structural elements. The numerical technique combines both the continuum mechanics approach and discrete cellular automata method.     

Direct method of solving the boundary-value problem of relaxation of residual stresses in a hardened cylindrical specimen under creep conditions

A direct method of solving a boundary-value problem for a surface-hardened cylindrical specimen affected by a tensile load under creep conditions is proposed. Relations for estimating the kinetics of the stress-strain state in the hardened layer are obtained. The adequacy of the solution is verified by experimental data on relaxation of residual stresses in the hardened layer of a cylindrical specimen made of éI 691 steel at T = 400°C. The calculated and experimental residual stresses are demonstrated to be in good agreement.     

Prediction of 42CrMo steel flow stress at high temperature and strain rate

The compressive deformation behavior of 42CrMo steel was investigated at temperatures ranging from 850 to 1150 °C and strain rates from 0.01 to 50 s⁻¹ on Gleeble-1500 thermo-simulation machine. Based on the classical stress–dislocation relation and the kinematics of the dynamic recrystallization, the flow stress constitutive equations of the work hardening-dynamical recovery period and dynamical recrystallization period were established for 42CrMo steel, respectively. The stress–strain curves of 42CrMo steel predicted by the established models are in good agreement with experimental results when the strain rate is relatively low. So, the proposed deformation constitutive equations can be used to establish the hot formation processing parameters for 42CrMo steel.     

DH36钢拉伸塑性流动特性及本构关系

对DH36钢在温度从293~800 K、应变率为0.001和0.1 s-1的拉伸塑性流动特性进行实验研究,通过端口形貌图对变形前后的试样进行了微观分析,结果表明:(1)在实验温度范围内,0.001和0.1 s-1的应变率下,第三型应变时效现象出现,随应变率的增加,时效发生的温度区域移向更高温度;(2)第三型应变时效的发生与合金原子在晶界和晶粒中大量的第二相析出强化有关联;(3)建立包含第三型应变时效现象的统一本构模型,通过比较该模型能够较好的预测DH36的塑性拉伸流动应力。     

RELAXATION OF RESIDUAL STRESSES IN A SURFACE-HARDENED PRISMATIC SAMPLE SUBJECTED TO BIAXIAL LOADING UNDER CREEP CONDITIONS

Journal of Applied Mechanics and Technical Physics - A mathematical model was developed to calculate the relaxation of residual stresses in a surface-hardened prismatic sample subjected to biaxial...     

高锰钢帽型样品在高速冲击下的剪切行为

绝热剪切带是材料在高速变形时一种典型的破坏形式,为了更好地理解高速冲击过程中绝热剪切带的形成和扩展,基于Johnson-Cook本构模型,利用ANSYS/LS-DYNA软件对高锰钢帽型样品高速冲击过程的剪切行为进行了二维数值模拟。结果表明:横穿剪切带方向,应力应变分布都是剪切带中心最高,然后向两边逐渐降低,类似于高斯分布; 平行于剪切带方向,应力应变分布则是呈两端高中间低的特点。然后利用模拟的应力应变场分布确定了剪切带和裂纹形成及扩展方向,即从剪切区两端形成并向中间扩展;最后通过编辑软件的k文件直接得到了剪切带内部及周围形变影响区和基体的温度分布,其和应力应变场分布规律一致,结果与实验结果基本吻合。     

On the experimental determination of yield surfaces and some results of annealed 304 stainless steel

Factors affecting the experimental determination of yield surfaces are discussed. They include the elastic moduli and the zero offset strain, the strain domain used to determine the yield stress, the probing path, and the strain rate of probing. To obtain yield surfaces consistently, it is necessary to account for these factors. The initial and subsequent yield surfaces of annealed AISI type 304 stainless steel have been experimentally determined in the axial-torsional stress space. Three loading paths have been studied. They are a pure axial path, a pure torsional path, and a proportional axial-torsional path. Each path includes loading, unloading, reloading, and the cyclically steady state.     

Deformation and failure mechanism in AISI 4340 steel under ballistic impact

Deformation and failure mechanism in quench-hardened AISI 4340 steel under ballistic impact is investigated. The influence of microstructure on damage evolution is also evaluated. Strain localization and shear failure along adiabatic shear bands are the dominant deformation and failure mechanisms. The time and critical strain for the commencement of strain localization is influenced by strain rate and microstructure. The microstructure of the steel sample also influenced the type of adiabatic shear bands formed during impact. Failure mechanism involves nucleation of micro-voids, which clusters to form bigger pores. Extremely fine micro-cracks are initiated adjacent to the pores and in shear flow direction along the shear bands. These micro-cracks become interconnected and grow to macro-cracks, which cause fracture of some of the investigated cylindrical steel samples under impact. The susceptibility of the adiabatic shear bands to cracking increases with decreasing tempering temperature of the steel.     

On the strain hardening and texture evolution in high manganese steels: Experiments and numerical investigation

We present a systematic investigation on the strain hardening and texture evolution in high manganese steels where twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) plays a significant role for the materials' plastic deformation. Motivated by the stress–strain behavior of typical TWIP steels with compositions of Fe, Mn, and C, we develop a mechanistic model to explain the strain-hardening in crystals where deformation twinning dominates the plastic deformation. The classical single crystal plasticity model accounting for both dislocation slip and deformation twinning are then employed to simulate the plastic deformation in polycrystalline TWIP steels. While only deformation twinning is activated for plasticity, the simulations with samples composed of voronoi grains cannot fully capture the texture evolution of the TWIP steel. By including both twinning deformation and dislocation slip, the model is able to capture both the stress–strain behaviors and the texture evolution in Fe–Mn–C TWIP steel in different boundary-value problems. Further analysis on the strain contributions by both mechanisms suggests that deformation twinning plays the dominant role at the initial stage of plasticity in TWIP steels, and dislocation slip becomes increasingly important at large strains.     

Hysteresis cycles and fatigue criteria using anelastic models based on fractional derivatives

The constitutive equation and the fatigue of anelastic media are described by using fractional order derivatives. The stress–strain relation, based on a generalization of the Kelvin–Voigt model, describes typical hysteresis cycles with the stress increasing as the number of cycles increases, a phenomenon known as cyclic hardening and observed in many materials such as, for instance, steel. Criteria are established to find the number of cycles which may cause fatigue for a strain with a given amplitude and frequency. They are based on the yield and fatigue stresses, on the melting temperature through the dissipated energy, and on the strain energy. In all the cases, it is seen that the number of cycles to failure is inversely proportional to the amplitude and to the frequency of the applied strain. Comparison to experimental data indicates that the model satisfies, at least qualitatively, the behavior of real materials under cyclic loading.     

Plastic deformation and fracture caused by coating-substrate mismatch at mesoscale

A large amount of experimental data obtained from the television-optical measurement technique (TOMSC) have been analyzed to identify the main mechanisms of plastic deformation at the mesoscale level for coated and surface-hardened materials. Among the factors to be concerned are the site of nucleation and relaxation of mesostress concentrators, the geometry and interface structure of which can influence the outcome.     

炮钢材料等离子淬火后动态力学性能研究

为提高炮钢材料在较高冲击作用下的动态力学性能,采用等离子淬火技术对炮钢材料进行表面处理,并使用分离式霍普金森压杆(SHPB)系统对原始炮钢材料与等离子淬火后的炮钢材料进行对比分析,方法为对两种试样在试验前后的长度压缩量以及二者在不同应变率下的动态应力-应变曲线进行比较。结果表明,随着应变率的增加两种试样的应力-应变关系、屈服强度都有不同程度的强化效应,都表现出一定的应变率敏感性;在相同气压下两种试样在长度方向上都产生了一定的塑性变形,但淬火试样的压缩量明显小于原始试样。并且气压相同时试样经过等离子淬火后其抗冲击性能有显著提升,具体表现为应变与应变率降低,屈服强度与极限强度升高。     

A novel ultrasonic strain gauge for single-sided measurement of a local 3D strain field

A novel method is introduced for the measurement of a 3D strain field by exploiting the interaction between ultrasound waves and geometrical characteristics of the insonified specimen. First, the response of obliquely incident harmonic waves to a deterministic surface roughness is utilized. Analysis of backscattered amplitudes in Bragg diffraction geometry then yields a measure for the in-plane strain field by mapping any shift in angular dependency. Secondly, the analysis of the reflection characteristics of normal incident pulsed waves in frequency domain provides a measure of the out-of-plane normal strain field component, simply by tracking any change in the stimulation condition for a thickness resonance. As such, the developed ultrasonic strain gauge yields an absolute, contactless and single-sided mapping of a local 3D strain field, in which both sample preparation and alignment procedure are needless. Results are presented for cold-rolled DC06 steel samples onto which skin passing of the work rolls is applied. The samples have been mechanically loaded, introducing plastic strain levels ranging from 2 % up to 35 %. The ultrasonically measured strains have been validated with various other strain measurement techniques, including manual micrometer, longitudinal and transverse mechanical extensometer and optical mono- and stereovision digital image correlation. Good agreement has been obtained between the ultrasonically determined strain values and the results of the conventional methods. As the ultrasonic strain gauge provides all three normal strain field components, it has been employed for the extraction of Lankford ratios at different applied longitudinal plastic strain levels, revealing a strain dependent plastic anisotropy of the investigated DC06 steel sheet.     

Elastic–plastic behavior of steel sheets under in-plane cyclic tension–compression at large strain

Elastic–plastic behavior of two types of steel sheets for press-forming (an aluminum-killed mild steel and a dual-phase high strength steel of 590 MPa ultimate tensile strength) under in-plane cyclic tension–compression at large strain (up to 25% strain for mild steel and 13% for high strength steel) have been investigated. From the experiments, it was found that the cyclic hardening is strongly influenced by cyclic strain range and mean strain. Transient softening and workhardening stagnation due to the Bauschinger effect, as well as the decrease in Young's moduli with increasing prestrain, were also observed during stress reversals. Some important points in constitutive modeling for such large-strain cyclic elasto-plasticity are discussed by comparing the stress–strain responses calculated by typical constitutive models of mixed isotropic–kinematic hardening with the corresponding experimental observations.     

A parameter for measuring the magnitude of a change of strain path: Validation and comparison with experiments on low carbon steel

Various tension-tension and tension-shear strain sequential experiments have been performed on low carbon steel sheet along different material axes. Owing to the rapid plastic instability that occurs during the reloading in uniaxial tension of prestrained samples, the results are focussed on the evolution of the macroscopic reloading yield stress (back extrapolated stress). For a given prestrain amount, the reloading stress is a function of the magnitude of the strain path change. A parameter is proposed, which allows the comparison of different sequential loading tests: the scalar product of the unit tensors corresponding to the prestrain and to the subsequent strain modes, respectively. For low carbon steel, a single curve is obtained when the reloading stress, normalized by the stress along the monotonic strain path is plotted against this parameter whatever the combination of loading sequences and the material direction of the prestrain.     

Experimental determination of stress intensity factors due to residual stresses

An experimental method is presented that enables stress intensity factors due to residual stress to be determined directly, without prior determination of the residual stress. The method is based on the crack compliance method, where a narrow cut is introduced progressively into the considered component, and the resulting strain change is measured by a strain gage. The required mathematical relations to determine stress intensity factors from strain measurements are established by means of some basic relations of linear elastic fracture mechanics. They are derived explicitly for two exemplary geometrical systems, which allowed for analytical treatment. Experimental data obtained in the case of a steel roller are presented and discussed.     

Modeling of deformation and rotation bands and of deformation induced grain boundaries in IF steel aggregate during large plane strain compression

A computation using crystal plasticity modeling of an actual IF steel aggregate plane strain compression deformation, underlines the formation of different deformation bands morphologies and grain splitting occurrence, already experimentally observed by different authors. The model based on dislocation densities as internal variables, developed in the framework of finite deformation and implemented in the Finite Element Method, is able to capture the main characteristics of different inhomogeneities and to analyze their formation and further development with strain, from the determination of the active and latent slip systems, and also from the quantification of their dislocation densities and corresponding glide rates evolutions. The respective boundary conditions and material properties effects are discussed.