On the influence of stress triaxiality and strain rate on the behaviour of a structural steel. Part I. Experiments

Notched axisymmetric specimens of the structural steel Weldox 460 E have been tested at high strain rates in a Split Hopkinson Tension Bar. The aim was to study the combined effects of strain rate and stress triaxiality on the material's behaviour. It is further considered important to obtain experimental data that can be used in validation of constitutive relations and fracture criteria. The force and elongation of the specimens were measured by strain gauges during the high strain rate tests, while the fracture strain was calculated based on measurements of the fracture area in the microscope. Optical recordings of the notch deformation were obtained using a digital high-speed camera system. Using image processing of the digital images, it was possible to estimate the true strain against time at minimum cross-section. The strength of the material was found to increase with increasing strain rate, while for the ductility no significant effect of strain rate could be ascertained from the notched specimen tests. The ductility of the material was found to depend considerably on the stress triaxiality. (C) 2002 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.