Shear band characteristics in high strain rate naval applications

This paper explores the dynamic behavior of HSLA 65 naval steels, specifically focusing on the initiation and growth of shear bands in quasi-static and dynamic compression experiments and how these bands affect stress-strain responses. The results indicate that the yield strength for this HSLA 65 increases from 541 ± 8 MPa for quasi-static (10-3 s-1) to 1081 ± 48 MPa for dynamic rates 1853 ± 31 s-1, and the hardening exponent increases from 0.376 ± 0.028 for quasi-static to 0.396 ± 0.006 for dynamic rates. Yield behavior was found to be associated with the onset of shear banding for both strain-rates, confirmed through visualization of the specimen surface using high-speed and ultra-high-speed cameras. For the quasi-static case, shear banding and yielding was observed to occur at 2.5% strain, and were observed to grow at speeds of upwards of 38 mm/s. For the dynamic experiments, the shear banding begins at approximately 1.18 ± 0.06% strain and these can grow upwards of 2122 ± 213 m/s during post-yield softening. Altogether, these measurements are some of the first of their kind in the open literature, and provide guidance on the critical time and length scales in shear banding. This information can be used in the future to design more failure-resistant steels, which has broader applications in construction, defense, and natural resource industries.