An Experimental Study of Inhomogeneous Cyclic Plastic Deformation

Abstract

A localized inhomogeneous cyclic plastic deformation phenomenon was experimentally investigated in a mild steel. Small strain gages were utilized to characterize the local deformation within the gage section and the gross deformation was measured with an extensometer. Both fully reversed symmetrical loading and asymmetrical loading with a mean stress were used in the cyclic experiments. Plastic deformation was initiated in local areas of the specimen and it propagated into the whole gage section in the specimen with increasing cyclic loading. The local inhomogeneous cyclic deformation was dependent on the loading magnitude and evolved with continued cyclic loading.