Viscoplastic Characterization of A533B Steel at High Strain Rates

Abstract

The yield strength of A533 grade B class 1 steel is relatively low. Dynamic fracture in test specimens and pressure vessels made with this material is generally accompanied by significant plastic flow over a large range of strain rates. Therefore, it is imperative to use viscoplastic constitutive equations in the analysis of dynamic fracture in A533B steel. This paper describes the characterization and modeling of the viscoplastic behavior of A533B steel using the Bodner-Partom model. Tensile tests were performed from −60°C to 175°C at strain rates ranging from 10−3 to 103 . The tensile data were used to obtain material constants in the Bodner-Partom constitutive equations over this range of temperatures. Comparison of calculated and measured stress-strain curves showed good agreement, validating the model and the procedures for determining the model constants. The use of the Bodner-Partom model for dynamic fracture modeling is then discussed.