Dynamic deformation behavior of Fe-0.22C-1.65Si-1.98Mn quenching and partitioning steel over a wide range of strain rates and constitutive model establishment

Abstract

During traffic accidents, automobiles often experience rapid deformation at high strain rates spanning from 10² to 10³ s⁻¹. The dynamic deformation behavior and the constitutive model of the materials are crucial for precisely analyzing and simulating vehicle collisions and damage. This study focuses on a high-strength quenching-partitioning steel (Q&P steel) compositionally tailored for automotive applications, specifically Fe-0.22C-1.65Si-1.98Mn. Tensile tests were conducted under quasi-static (10⁻⁴–10⁻¹ s⁻¹) and dynamic (1–10³ s⁻¹) conditions to obtain stress-strain data, based on which the deformation behavior and instability mechanism of the Q&P steel were revealed. A Johnson-Cook (J-C) constitutive model was established to predict the stress-strain behavior. This model was further improved by incorporating the nonlinear influence of strain rate on stress, resulting in a significant reduction of prediction error by 60.9 % in the high strain rate range. Based on the modified J-C model, the finite element simulations of the high-speed collision for U-shaped and tubular components were conducted. The simulations exhibit excellent agreement with experimental results, thus confirming the accuracy of the model in predicting high-speed deformation behavior of the Q&P steel. This validation enables precise simulations of dynamic collision characteristics and energy absorption.