An Enhanced Approach for High-Strain Plasticity in Flat Anisotropic Specimens with Progressively Distorting Neck Sections

Abstract

Characterizing the behavior of ductile metals at high strains is essential in various fields. In the case of thin sheets, rectangular cross-section specimens are used to characterize these materials, typically by tensile tests. Unlike cylindrical specimens, flat ones pose additional challenges for the hardening characterization at high strains, especially in the post-necking phase, which, for many high-strength steels, may cover most of the plastic strain range. After the onset of global necking, the rectangular cross-sections tend to distort with respect to their original shape, as their edges progressively curve and bulge inward. The localized necking occurring after the global one in thinner specimens, further distorts the necked zone. Additionally, sheet metals usually exhibit anisotropic characteristics that affect the derivation of the stress–strain curve and need to be dealt with. No exact method exists for the stress–strain characterization of ductile thin sheets at high strains from tensile tests. Although several approximate methods are available in the literature, they either discard the post-necking range or require highly advanced and complex experimental setups not suitable for industrial applications (e.g., 3D DIC). Then, this work proposes a relatively simple methodology for the experimental characterization of anisotropic thin sheet metals through tensile tests on rectangular cross-section specimens that delivers the true stress–strain curve of the material, extended over the necking range and up to fracture, accurately assessing the anisotropy and the distortion of the neck section. The proposed methodology, employing a standard single-camera experimental setup, is illustrated here, referring to four different steels for automotive applications with reference to a single material orientation; it is intended as representative of the repeated procedure involving tensile tests along 3 or more material directions in order to describe the whole anisotropic plastic response. A detailed comparison between the novel methodology and four other common approaches is carried out, highlighting the differences and the enhanced capabilities of the novel one proposed.