Determination of Local Stresses and Strains within the Notch Strain Approach: The Efficient and Accurate Calculation of Notch Root Strains Using Finite Element Analysis

For the service life estimation of metallic components under cyclic loading according to strain-based approaches, a simulation of the elastic-plastic stress–strain path at the point of interest is necessary. An efficient method for determining this stress–strain path is the use of the load–notch-strain curve, as this is also implemented within the FKM guideline nonlinear. The load–notch-strain curve describes the relationship between the load on the component and the local elastic-plastic strain. On the one hand, this can be estimated from loads or theoretical elastic stresses by using notch root approximations. On the other hand, this can be determined in a finite element analysis based on the elastic-plastic material behaviour. This contribution describes how this latter option is carried out in general and how it can be optimised in such a way that the FEA requires significantly less calculation time. To show the benefit of this optimisation, a comparative calculation on an exemplary geometry is carried out.

Characterization of Flow Induced Anisotropy in Sheet Metal at Large Strain

Background Many metals exhibit a stress overshoot, the so-called cross-hardening when subjected to a specific strain-path change. Existing tests for sheet metals are limited to an equivalent prestrain of 0.2 and show varying levels of cross-hardening for identical grades. Objective The aim is to determine cross-hardening at large strains, relevant for forming processes. Mild steel grades (DC04, DC06, DX56) and high strength steel grades (BS600, DP600, ZE800) are investigated to quantify the level of cross-hardening between different grades and reveal which grades exhibit cross-hardening at all. Method A novel test setup for large prestrain using hydraulic bulge test and torsion of curved sheets is developed to achieve an orthogonal strain-path change, i.e. the strain rate tensors for two subsequent loadings are orthogonal. The influence of strain rate differences between the tests and clamping of curved sheets on the determined cross-hardening are evaluated. The results are compared to experiments in literature. Results Cross-hardening for sheet metal at prestrains up to 0.6 true plastic strain are obtained for the first time. For DX56 grade the maximum cross-hardening for all prestrains have a constant level of approximately 6%, while the maximum cross-hardening for DC04 and DC06 grades increases, with levels between 7 and 11%. The high strength grades BS600 and ZE800 do not show cross-hardening behavior, while, differencing from previous publications, cross-hardening is observed for dual phase steel DP600. Conclusion Depending on the microstructure of the steel grade the cross-hardening increases with large prestrain or remains constant.

Consequences of large strain anisotropic work-hardening in cold forging

The influence of anisotropic work-hardening on the component properties and process forces in cold forging is investigated. The focus is on the material behaviour exhibited after strain path reversals. The work-hardening of three steels is characterized for large monotonic strains (equivalent strains up to 1.7) and subsequent strain path reversals (accumulated strains up to 2.5). Tensile tests on specimens extracted from rods forward extruded at room temperature reveal an almost linear work-hardening for all investigated steels. The application of compressive tests on extruded material gives insights into the non-monotonic work-hardening behaviour. All previously reported anisotropic work-hardening phenomena such as the Bauschinger effect, work-hardening stagnation and permanent softening are present for all investigated steels and intensify with the pre-strain. Experimental results of 16MnCrS5 were utilized to select constitutive models of increasing complexity regarding their capability to capture anisotropic work-hardening. The best fit between experimental and numerical data was obtained by implementation of a modified Yoshida-Uemori model, which is able to capture all observed anisotropic work-hardening phenomena. The constitutive models were applied in simulations of single- and multi-stage cold forming processes, revealing the significant effect of anisotropic hardening on the predicted component properties and process forces, originating in the process-intrinsic strain path reversals as well as in strain path reversals between subsequent forming stages. Selected results were validated experimentally.

Understanding the Strain Path Effect on the Deformed Microstructure of Single Crystal Pure Aluminum

During plastic deformation, the change of structural states is known to be complicated and indeterminate, even in single crystals. This contributes to some enduring problems like the prediction of deformed texture and the commercial applications of such material. In this work, plane strain compression (PSC) tests were designed and implemented on single crystal pure aluminum to reveal the deformation mechanism. PSC tests were performed at different strain rates under strain control in either one-directional or two-directional compression. The deformed microstructures were analyzed according to the flow curve and the electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) mappings. The effects of grain orientation, strain rate, and strain path on the deformation and mechanical response were analyzed. Experimental results revealed that the degree of lattice rotation of one-dimensional compression mildly dependents on cube orientation, but it is profoundly sensitive to the strain rate. For two-dimensional compression, the softening behavior is found to be more pronounced in the case that provides greater dislocations gliding freeness in the first loading. Results presented in this work give new insights into aluminum deformation, which provides theoretical support for forming and manufacturing of aluminum.

Deformation Law of Cold Drawing Process of High Strength Bridge Cable Steel

High-strength cable-steel bridge is the “lifeline” of steel structure bridges, which requires high comprehensive mechanical properties, and cold-drawing is the most important process to produce high-strength cable-steel bridge. Therefore, through the ABAQUS platform, a bridge wire drawing model was established, and the simulation analysis on the process of stress strain law and strain path trends for high-strength bridge steel wire from Φ 12.65 mm by seven cold-drawing to Φ 6.90 mm was conducted. The simulation results show that the wire drawing the heart of the main axial deformation, surface and sub-surface of the main axial and radial deformation occurred, with the increase in the number of drawing the road, the overall deformation of the wire was also more obvious non-uniformity. In the single-pass drawing process, the change in the potential relationship of each layer of material was small, and multiple inflection points appeared in the strain path diagram; the change in the seven-pass potential relationship was more drastic, which can basically be regarded as a simple superposition of multiple single-pass pulls.

Effect of Strain-Rate on Forming Limit Strain of Aluminum Alloy and Mild Steel Sheets Under Strain Path Change

The aim of this study is to show the effect of the strain-rate on the forming limit strain of an aluminum alloy A5052 sheet and a mild steel sheet SPCC. Biaxial stretching test was carried out. The prescribed strain path was linear path or that with directional change in straining. The sheet was pre-strained by uniaxial tension in the latter path. The deformation speed was set to be quasi-static or high speed whose strain-rate was about 300 /s using the dedicated high speed stretching device. The forming limit strain of the A5052 sheet for the linear strain path was larger in the high speed stretching than that under the quasi-static condition. For the case with strain path change the forming limit strain was further large. This may be due to the softening phenomenon which occurs by aging treatment, because the stretching experiment was conducted about two weeks after the pre-straining operation. On the other hand, the forming limit strain of the SPCC under the high speed condition was smaller than that under the quasi-static condition in the linear strain path. This is attributed to the decreased strain hardening exponent when the strain-rate increases. Further, in the equi-biaxial stretching of the pre-strained specimen, large difference of the forming limit strain between the deformation speeds was found. It is concluded that A5052 aluminum alloy sheet has a good adaptability to high speed forming, on the other hand, attention should be paid in increasing the forming speed of SPCC.