Determination of the Energy Storage Rate Distribution in the Area of Strain Localization Using Infrared and Visible Imaging

Abstract

The presented work is devoted to a new simple method of determination of the energy storage rate (the ratio of the stored energy increment to the plastic work increment) that allows obtaining distribution of this quantity in the area of strain localization. The method is based on the simultaneous measurements of the temperature and displacement distributions on the specimen surface during a tensile deformation. The experimental procedure involves two complementary techniques: i.e. infrared thermography (IRT) and visible light imaging. It has been experimentally shown that during the evolution of plastic strain localization the energy storage rate in some areas of the deformed specimen drops to zero. It can be treated as the plastic instability criterion.