Hot deformation behavior of an austenitic Fe–20Mn–3Si–3Al transformation induced plasticity steel

Hot deformation behavior of an austenitic Fe–20Mn–3Si–3Al transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel was investigated by hot compression tests on Gleeble 3500D thermo-mechanical simulator in the temperature ranges of 900–1100 °C and the strain rate ranges of 0.01–10 s⁻¹. The results show that the flow stress is sensitively dependent on deformation temperature and strain rate, and the flow stress increases with strain rate and decreases with deformation temperature. The peak stress during hot deformation can be predicted by the Zener–Hollomon (Z) parameter in the hyperbolic sine equation with the hot deformation activation energy Q of 387.84 kJ/mol. The dynamic recrystallization (DRX) is the most important softening mechanism for the experimental steel during hot compression. Furthermore, DRX procedure is strongly affected by Z parameter, and decreasing of Z value lead to more adequate proceeding of DRX.     

Study of the processing map and hot deformation behavior of a Cu-bearing 317LN austenitic stainless steel

The hot-working behavior of a Cu-bearing 317LN austenitic stainless steel (317LN–Cu) was investigated in the 950–1150 °C temperature and 0.01–10 s^− 1strain rate range, respectively. The effects of different deformation parameters and optimum hot-working window were respectively characterized through analyzing flow stress curves, constitutive equations, processing maps and microstructures. The critical strain for dynamic recrystallization (DRX) was determined by the inflection point on θ-σ and −∂θ/∂σ-σ curves. The peak stress was found to increase with decrease in temperature and increase in strain rate. Typical signs of DRX over a wide range of temperatures and strain rates were observed on the flow stress curves. The power dissipation maps in the strain range of 0.1–0.4 were basically similar, indicating the insignificant effect of strain on the power dissipation maps of 317LN–Cu. However, the instability maps showed strong strain sensitivity with increasing strain, which was attributed to the flow localization. The optimum hot-working window for 317LN–Cu was obtained in the temperature range 1100–1120 °C and strain rate range 0.01–0.018 s^− 1, with a peak efficiency of 38%. Microstructural analysis revealed fine and homogenized recrystallized grains in this domain.     

A characterization for the flow behavior of 42CrMo steel

In order to evaluate the flow stress and the dynamic softening characteristics of casting 42CrMo steel, isothermal upsetting experiments with height reduction 60% were performed at the temperatures of 1123 K, 1198 K, 1273 K and 1348 K, and the strain rates of 0.01 s⁻¹, 0.1 s⁻¹, 1 s⁻¹ and 10 s⁻¹ on thermal physics simulator Gleeble 1500. The flow behavior of the applied stress as a function of strain, strain rate and temperature exhibits a more pronounced effect of temperature than strain rate, and a typical characteristic of dynamic recrystallization softening. To characterize the flow behavior more factually and accurately, the traditional Fields–Backofen equation was amended, and an innovative mathematical model containing a softening item s, n-value and m-value variable functions was brought forth. The stress–strain curves calculated by the derived flow stress equation are fit with the experimental results well not only at the hardening stage but also at softening stage.     

Hot shear deformation constitutive analysis and processing map of extruded Mg–12Li–1Zn bcc alloy

The hot shear deformation behavior of an extruded Mg–12Li–1Zn alloy was studied by shear punch test (SPT) in the temperature range 200–300 °C, and in the shear strain rate range 1.2 × 10⁻³–6.0 × 10⁻² s⁻¹. Based on the constitutive analysis of the SPT data, it was found that a sine hyperbolic function could properly describe the hot shear deformation behavior of the material. The activation energy of 108 kJ mol⁻¹ calculated from sine hyperbolic function together with the power-law stress exponents of 3.6–4.7 is indicative of lattice-diffusion-controlled dislocation climb mechanism as an operative deformation mechanism. As a new approach, the shear processing map was developed in order to determine the optimum processing condition, which was found to be 300 °C and 1.2 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹. Domains of the processing map are also interpreted on the basis of the associated microstructural observations. It was found that the post-deformation microstructure is sensitive to the Zener–Hollomon parameter, so that DRX was encouraged with decreasing Z-value.     

Microstructure characteristic for high temperature deformation of powder metallurgy Ti–47Al–2Cr–0.2Mo alloy

Hot compression tests of a powder metallurgy (P/M) Ti–47Al–2Cr–0.2Mo (at. pct) alloy were carried out on a Gleeble-3500 simulator at the temperatures ranging from 1000 °C to 1150 °C with low strain rates ranging from 1 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ to 1 s⁻¹. Electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were employed to investigate the microstructure characteristic and nucleation mechanisms of dynamic recrystallization. The stress–strain curves show the typical characteristic of working hardening and flow softening. The working hardening is attributed to the dislocation movement. The flow softening is attributed to the dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The number of β phase decreases with increasing of deformation temperature and decreasing of strain rate. The ratio of dynamic recrystallization grain increases with the increasing of temperature and decreasing of strain rate. High temperature deformation mechanism of powder metallurgy Ti–47Al–2Cr–0.2Mo alloy mainly refers to twinning, dislocations motion, bending and reorientation of lamellae.     

Influence of oxygen on the processing maps for hot working of electrolytic tough pitch copper

Processing maps for the hot deformation of electrolytic tough pitch (ETP) copper (100 ppm oxygen) have been developed in the temperature range 600–950 °C and strain rate range 0.001–100 s^− 1, and compared with those published earlier on ETP copper with higher oxygen contents (180, 220 and 260 ppm). These reveal that dynamic recrystallization (DRX) occurs over a wide temperature and strain rate range and is controlled by different diffusion mechanisms. In ETP copper with 100 and 180 ppm oxygen, the apparent activation energy in the DRX domain occurring in the strain rate range 0.001–10 s^− 1 and temperature range 600–900 °C is about 198 kJ/mol which suggests lattice self-diffusion to be the rate-controlling mechanism. This DRX domain has moved to higher temperatures and lower strain rates in ETP copper with higher oxygen content. In the second domain occurring at strain rates in the range 10–100 s^− 1 and temperatures > 700 °C, the apparent activation energy is 91 kJ/mol and DRX is controlled by grain boundary self-diffusion. This domain is absent in the maps of ETP copper with oxygen content higher than 180 ppm and this is attributed to the pinning of the grain boundaries by the oxide particles preventing their migration.     

The influence of martensite,bainite and ferrite on the as-quenched constitutive response of simultaneously quenched and deformed boron steel – Experiments and model

This paper examines the relationship between as-formed microstructure and mechanical properties of a hot stamped boron steel used in automotive structural applications. Boron steel sheet metal blanks were austenized and quenched at cooling rates of 30 °C/s, 15 °C/s and 10 °C/s within a Gleeble thermal–mechanical simulator. For each cooling rate condition, the blanks were simultaneously deformed at temperatures of 600 °C and 800 °C. A strain of approximately 0.20 was imposed in the middle of the blanks, from which miniature tensile specimens were extracted. Depending on the cooling rate and deformation temperature imposed on the specimens, some of the as-quenched microstructures consisted of predominantly martensite and bainite, while others consisted of martensite, bainite and ferrite. Optical and SEM metallographraphic techniques were used to quantify the area fractions of the phases present and quasi-static (0.003 s⁻¹) uniaxial tests were conducted on the miniature tensile specimens. The results revealed that an area fraction of ferrite greater than 6% led to an increased uniform elongation and an increase in n-value without affecting the strength of the material for equivalent hardness levels. This finding resulted in improved energy absorption due to the presence of ferrite and showed that a material with a predominantly bainitic microstructure containing 16% ferrite (with 257 HV) resulted in a 28% increase in energy absorption when compared to a material condition that was fully bainitic with a hardness of 268 HV. Elevated strain rate tension tests were also conducted at 10 s⁻¹ and 80 s⁻¹ and the effect of strain rate on the ultimate tensile strength (σ_UTS) and yield strength (σ_Y) was shown to be moderate for all of the conditions. The true stress versus effective plastic strain (flow stress) curves generated from the tensile tests were used to develop the “Tailored Crash Model II” (TCM II) which is a strain rate sensitive constitutive model that is a function of effective plastic strain, true strain rate and area fraction of martensite, bainite and ferrite. The model was shown to accurately capture the hardening behaviour and strain rate sensitivity of the multiphase material conditions examined.     

Study on hot workability and optimization of process parameters of a modified 310 austenitic stainless steel using processing maps

To investigate the optimized hot deformation parameters of a modified 310 austenitic stainless steel, the hot compression tests were performed using a Gleeble 3500 thermal simulator. The hot deformation behavior and hot workability characteristics were investigated in a temperature range of 800–1100 °C and a strain rate range of 0.1–10 s⁻¹. The hot processing maps of the tested steel were developed based on the dynamic material model (DMM), from which the safe deformation regions and instable deformation regions were determined. The corresponding microstructural and hardness evolutions during deformation were analyzed in detail. It was found that the deformation in the safe regions was beneficial to dynamic recovery (DRY) and dynamic recrystallization (DRX), while the deformation in unstable region would lead to flow instability, kink boundaries and grain growth. Near 950 °C, the energy dissipation rates were unusually lower, and the hardness of the deformed sample exhibited a significant increase, as a result of strain-induced precipitation. Coupled with the microstructure analysis and processing map technology, the workability map was schematically plotted and the optimal working conditions were determined. Such conditions were: temperatures in the range of 1075–1100 °C and strain rates in the range of 0.5–1.7 s⁻¹. These conditions are critical to attain an excellent homogeneous microstructure with fine grains after deformation for the modified 310 austenitic stainless steel.     

Effect of processing parameters on the hot deformation behavior of as-cast TC21 titanium alloy

Isothermal compression tests of as-cast Ti–6A1–2Zr–2Sn–3Mo–1Cr–2Nb (TC21) titanium alloy are conducted in the deformation temperature ranging from 1000 to 1150 °C with an interval of 50 °C, strain rate ranging from 0.01 to 10.0 s⁻¹ and height reductions of 30%, 45%, 60% and 75% on a computer controlled Gleeble 3500 simulator. The true stress–strain curves under different deformation conditions are obtained. Based on the experimental data, the effects of deformation parameters on the hot deformation behavior of as-cast TC21 alloy were studied. The deformation mechanisms of the alloy in the whole regimes are predicted by the power dissipation efficiency and instability parameter and further investigated through the microstructure observation. It is found that at the height reductions of 30%, 45% and 60%, the softening of stress–strain curves at high strain rate (>1.0 s⁻¹) is mainly associated with flow localization, which is caused by local temperature rise, whereas at low strain rate, the softening is associated with dynamic recrystallization (DRX). However, the instability showed in flow localization occurs at low strain rate of 0.01 s⁻¹ when the height reduction reaches 75%. In addition, the effects of strain rate, deformation temperature and height reduction on microstructure evolution are discussed in detail, respectively.     

Numerical model to predict deformation of corrugated austenitic stainless steel sheet under cryogenic temperatures for design of liquefied natural gas insulation system

Austenitic stainless steel exhibits nonlinear hardening behavior at low temperature and under various strain rate conditions caused by the phenomenon of transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP). In this study, a uniaxial tensile test for 304L austenitic stainless steel was performed below ambient temperature (−163, −140, −120, −50, and 20 °C) and at strain rates (10⁻⁴, 10⁻³, and 10⁻² s⁻¹) to identify nonlinear mechanical characteristics. In addition, a viscoplastic damage model was proposed and implemented in a user-defined material subroutine to provide a theoretical explanation of the nonlinear hardening features. The verification was conducted not only by a material-based comparative study involving experimental investigations, but also by a structural application to the corrugated steel membrane of a Mark-III-type cargo containment system for liquefied natural gas. In addition, an accumulated damage contour was represented to predict the failure location by using a continuum damage mechanics approach.     

Dynamic recrystallization behavior of an as-cast TiAl alloy during hot compression

High temperature compressive deformation behaviors of as-cast Ti–43Al–4Nb–1.4W–0.6B alloy were investigated at temperatures ranging from 1050 °C to 1200 °C, and strain rates from 0.001 s^− 1 to 1 s^− 1. Electron back scattered diffraction technique, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were employed to investigate the microstructural evolutions and nucleation mechanisms of the dynamic recrystallization. The results indicated that the true stress–true strain curves show a dynamic flow softening behavior. The dependence of the peak stress on the deformation temperature and the strain rate can well be expressed by a hyperbolic-sine type equation. The activation energy decreases with increasing the strain. The size of the dynamically recrystallized β grains decreases with increasing the value of the Zener–Hollomon parameter (Z). When the flow stress reaches a steady state, the size of β grains almost remains constant with increasing the deformation strain. The continuous dynamic recrystallization plays a dominant role in the deformation. In order to characterize the evolution of dynamic recrystallization volume fraction, the dynamic recrystallization kinetics was studied by Avrami-type equation. Besides, the role of β phase and the softening mechanism during the hot deformation was also discussed in details.     

Constitutive modeling for flow stress of 55SiMnMo bainite steel at hot working conditions

The hot deformation behavior of 55SiMnMo bainite steel was studied through isothermal hot compression tests conducted using a Gleeble 3500 at 950–1100 °C, with strain rates of 0.01 s⁻¹ to 10 s⁻¹. A constitutive equation was established using the experimental results to describe the stress–strain relationship based on the dislocation density variation, considering the influence of the dynamic softening mechanism. When dynamic recovery is the only softening mechanism, a constitutive equation for flow stress was obtained from the variation of the dislocation density during hot deformation based on work hardening and dynamic recovery. When dynamic recrystallization occurs, the relationship between the dislocation density and the volume fraction of dynamic recrystallization was used to predict the flow stress after the peak. The reliability of the model was verified through a comparison between the predicted flow stress curves from the model and the experimental data.     

Impact and fracture response of sintered 316L stainless steel subjected to high strain rate loading

This paper describes the use of a material testing system (MTS) and a compressive split-Hopkinson bar to investigate the impact behaviour of sintered 316L stainless steel at strain rates ranging from 10^− 3 s^− 1 to 7.5 × 10³ s^− 1. It is found that the flow stress–strain response of the sintered 316L stainless steel depends strongly on the applied strain rate. The rate of work hardening and the strain rate sensitivity change significantly as the strain rate increases. The flow behaviour of the sintered 316L stainless steel can be accurately predicted using a constitutive law based on Gurson's yield criterion and the flow rule of Khan, Huang and Liang (KHL). Microstructural observations reveal that the degree of localized grain deformation increases at higher strain rates. However, the pore density and the grain size vary as a reversible function of the strain rate. Impacts at strain rates higher than 5.6 × 10³ s^− 1 are found to induce adiabatic shear bands in the specimens. These specimens subsequently fail as a result of crack propagation along the dominant band. The fracture surfaces of the failed specimens are characterized by dimple-like structures, which are indicative of ductile failure. The depth and the density of these dimples are found to decrease with increasing strain rate. This observation indicates a reduction in the fracture resistance and is consistent with the observed macroscopic flow stress–strain response.     

Temperature dependent work hardening in Ti–6Al–4V alloy over large temperature and strain rate ranges: Experiments and constitutive modeling

The plastic deformation behaviors of Ti–6Al–4V alloy over wide ranges of strain rate (from 10⁻⁴ to 10⁴ s⁻¹) and temperature (from 20 to 900 °C) are investigated by the quasi-static and dynamic uniaxial compression tests. The microstructure evolution of Ti–6Al–4V alloy at different temperatures is discussed. Material generates higher ductility and formability when temperature is higher than 500 °C, which leads to the decrease of work hardening rate. The true stress–strain responses are modeled with the JC, modified JC, KHL and modified KHL models. In detail, a temperature dependent work hardening function is introduced into the original JC and KHL models. The parameters of the four models for Ti–6Al–4V alloy are calculated by GA optimization method. The average standard deviations between the experimental and calculated flow stresses range from 4% to 13%, which validates the accuracy of the models. In addition, comparison of flow stresses at dynamic (10,000 s⁻¹), the work hardening rates at dynamic (7500 s⁻¹), as well as the quasi-static jump experiments were proposed to further validate the models. The modified JC and modified KHL models could characterize the temperature dependent work hardening effect for Ti–6Al–4V alloy over large strain rate and temperature ranges.     

The hot deformation behavior and processing map of Ti–47.5Al–Cr–V alloy

The high temperature flow behavior of as-extruded Ti–47.5Al–Cr–V alloy has been investigated at the temperature between 1100 °C and 1250 °C and the strain rate range from 0.001 s^− 1 to 1 s^− 1 by hot compression tests. The results showed that the flow stress of this alloy had a positive dependence on strain rate and a negative dependence on deformation temperature. The activation energy Q was calculated to be 409 kJ/mol and the constitutive model of this material was established. By combining the power dissipation map with instability map, the processing map was established to optimize the deformation parameters. The optimum deformation parameter was at 1150 °C–1200 °C and 0.001 s^− 1–0.03 s^− 1 for this alloy. The microstructure of specimens deformed at different conditions was analyzed and connected with the processing map. The material underwent instability deformation at the strain rate of 1 s^− 1, which was predicted by the instability map. The surface fracture was observed to be the identification of the instability.     

Study of hot forging behavior of as-cast Mg–3Al–1Zn–2Ca alloy towards optimization of its hot workability

Mg–3Al–1Zn–2Ca (AZX312) alloy has been forged in the temperature range of 350–500 °C and at speeds in the range of 0.01–10 mm s⁻¹ to produce a rib-web shape with a view to validate the processing map and study the microstructural development. The process was simulated through finite-element method to estimate the local and average strain rate ranges in the forging envelope. The processing map exhibited two domains in the following ranges: (1) 350–450 °C/0.0003–0.05 s⁻¹ and (2) 450–500 °C/0.03–0.7 s⁻¹ and these represent dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and intercrystalline cracking, respectively. The optimal workability condition according to the processing map is 425–450 °C/0.001–0.01 s⁻¹. A wide flow instability regime occurred at higher strain rates diagonally across the map, which caused flow localization that should be avoided in forming this alloy. The experimental load–stroke curves correlated well with the simulated ones and the observed microstructural features in the forged components matched with the ones predicted by the processing map.     

Effects of strain rate and temperature on the tension behavior of polycarbonate

Tension stress–strain responses of polycarbonate are presented for strain rates of 1 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹–1700 s⁻¹ and temperatures ranging from −60 to 20 °C. The high rate tension tests are performed using a split Hopkinson tension bar apparatus. The influence of strain rate and temperature on the tension behavior of polycarbonate is investigated. Experimental results indicate that the tension behavior of polycarbonate exhibits nonlinear characteristics and rate-temperature sensitivity. The values of yield strength and strain at yield increase with the increase of strain rate and decrease with increasing temperature. A viscoelastic constitutive model consisting of a nonlinear spring and a nonlinear Maxwell element is proposed to characterize the rate and temperature dependent deformation behavior of polycarbonate prior to yielding.     

Influence of stress triaxiality and strain rate on the failure behavior of a dual-phase DP780 steel

To better understand the in-service mechanical behavior of advanced high-strength steels, the influence of stress triaxiality and strain rate on the failure behavior of a dual-phase (DP) 780 steel sheet was investigated. Three flat, notched mini-tensile geometries with varying notch severities and initial stress triaxialities of 0.36, 0.45, and 0.74 were considered in the experiments. Miniature specimens were adopted to facilitate high strain rate testing in addition to quasi-static experiments. Tensile tests were conducted at strain rates of 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 s⁻¹ for all three notched geometries and compared to mini-tensile uniaxial samples. Additional tests at a strain rate of 1500 s⁻¹ were performed using a tensile split Hopkinson bar apparatus. The results showed that the stress–strain response of the DP780 steel exhibited mainly positive strain rate sensitivity for all geometries, with mild negative strain rate sensitivity up to 0.1 s⁻¹ for the uniaxial specimens. The strain at failure was observed to decrease with strain rate at low strain rates of 0.001–0.1 s⁻¹; however, it increased by 26% for an increase in strain rate from 0.1 to 1500 s⁻¹ for the uniaxial condition. Initial triaxiality was found to have a significant negative impact on true failure strain with a decrease of 32% at the highest triaxiality compared to the uniaxial condition at a strain rate of 0.001 s⁻¹. High resolution scanning electron microscopy images of the failure surfaces revealed a dimpled surface while optical micrographs revealed shearing through the thickness indicating failure occurred via ductile-shear. Finite element simulations of the tests were used to predict the effective plastic strain versus triaxiality history within the deforming specimens. These predictions were combined with the measured conditions at the onset of failure in order to construct limit strain versus triaxiality failure criteria.     

Dependence of dynamic strain ageing on strain amplitudes during the low-cycle fatigue of TP347H austenitic stainless steel at 550 °C

Low-cycle fatigue (LCF) tests are carried out on TP347H stainless steel at a strain rate of 8 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ with total strain amplitudes (Δε_t/2) of ±0.4% and ±1.0%, at room temperature (RT) and 550 °C. It is found that the stress responses and dislocation structures under cyclic loading strongly depend on the value of strain amplitude at 550 °C. Compared with those at the same strain amplitude at RT, the material shows a rapid strain softening, and finally attains a stabilized state at Δε_t/2 = ±0.4% and 550 °C, but the one presents an anomalous behavior, i.e., first a rapid hardening to the maximum stress, followed by a reducing softening at Δε_t/2 = ±1.0% and 550 °C. More cells resulting from dislocation cross-slip and planar structures due to dynamic strain ageing (DSA) restricting cross-slip develop at low strain amplitude of ±0.4% at the first cycle. However, there are more complicated dislocation structures, such as cells, elongated cells, walls/channels and planar structures at Δε_t/2 = ±1.0%. The observations of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) exclude the effects of martensitic transformation, creep, oxidation, and precipitations on these stress responses and microstructure evolutions, which result from DSA appearing at 550 °C.     

Characterization of hot compression behavior of a new HIPed nickel-based P/M superalloy using processing maps

Isothermal forging was a critical step process to fabricate the high-performance nickel-based superalloy. The temperature and strain rate served the most critical role in determining its microstructure and mechanical properties. In this article, we employed the hot compression to simulate the isothermal forging process upon the temperature ranging from 1000 °C to 1100 °C in combination with a strain rate of 0.001–1.0 s^− 1 for a new P/M nickel-based alloy. The activation energy was determined as 903.58 kJ/mol and the processing maps at a strain range of 0.4–0.7 were developed. The instability domains were more inclined to occur at strain rates higher than 0.1 s^− 1 and manifested in the form of adiabatic shear bands. The map further demonstrated that the regions with peak efficiency of 55% were located at 1080 °C/0.0015 s^− 1 and 1095 °C/0.014 s^− 1, respectively. Obvious dynamic recrystallization could be detected at the strain rate 0.01 s^− 1 leading to a significant flow stress drop and the grain growth was remarkably triggered under 1100 °C. The findings can shed light on the forging processing optimization of the new nickel-based superalloy.