The Yield Phenomena of a Medium Carbon Steel under Dynamic Loading

The paper describes dynamic tensile tests carried out on a medium carbon steel to determine the true shape of the stress-permanent strain curve for rapid straining. The variation of this curve with change in strain rate, and the progressive deformation of the steel are also studied. An impact testing machine was used, straining being carried out as a series of dynamic loadings, and the stress was measured by means of electrical resistance strain gauges attached directly to the specimens. Comparison is effected between dynamic and static stress-strain curves, the existence of a “dynamic upper yield stress” and a “dynamic lower yield stress” being shown, together with a difference in the rate of strain hardening for the two straining conditions. Non-uniform yielding of the metal is shown to be more pronounced for dynamic straining and, like static yielding, to be an integral part of the lower yield stress phenomenon. The manner in which all these factors are affected by normalizing the steel is shown. A special form of deformation of the steel peculiar to rapid straining is indicated. Theoretical and experimental facts are used to deduce a theory for the observed increases in stress, and the use of these dynamic stresses for design purposes is discussed.