A novel technique for determining the dynamic Bauschinger effect by electromagnetic Hopkinson bar

Abstract

Dynamic mechanical behavior of metallic materials under complicated loading conditions has attracted much attention. However, it is hard to obtain the dynamic Bauschinger effect of metallic materials due to the limitation of loading equipment. In order to investigate the relationship between the Bauschinger effect and strain rate effect of metallic materials, this paper proposes an asynchronous loading technique based on electromagnetic split Hopkinson bar system, which could provide an effective way to study the Bauschinger effect of metallic materials under high strain rate loading. We first introduce the main characteristics of the asynchronous loading device, that is, the specimen can be loaded by one cycle of continuous dynamic tension-compression loading pulse in which the two separate stress waves are created by electromagnetic pulse generators and prove to maintain their consistency. The propagation of stress waves was analyzed to ensure the continuity of the loading process. Then the dynamic loading process and the methods of data processing and stress wave separation are presented. Stress equilibrium was also analyzed in order to demonstrate the reliability of the equipment. Finally, the Bauschinger effect of 6061 aluminum alloy at 5% pre-strain during the process of dynamic compression to dynamic tension loading was studied using this method, and the corresponding quasi-static tests were also conducted for comparison. It was found that the material shows less strain-rate sensitivity under axial compression loading, while its Bauschinger stress parameter increases from 0.07 in quasi-static loading to 0.17 in dynamic loading. The results indicate that the Bauschinger effect of 6061 aluminum alloys depends on the strain rate and can be significantly enhanced under dynamic loading. This conclusion presents a challenge to the traditional conception that aluminum alloys are insensitive to strain rate.