Failure mechanisms in high-strength eutectoid and duplex stainless steel wires subjected to tensile and transverse loads

Abstract

Multi-wire strands are the most common resistant element for structural tendons used in a wide range of applications. The tendons are designed to withstand high tensile loads, but they can also be subjected to permanent or accidental transverse loads that increase the contact forces between the wires, and thus alter their tensile behavior. In this context, the paper presents a comparative experimental analysis of the macroscopic and microscopic failure mechanisms of two types of high-strength wire when subjected to tensile and local transverse loading. The two wires were manufactured by cold drawing, respectively from eutectoid steel and lean duplex stainless steel. The results reveal consistent macroscopic and microscopic differences between both steels wires, which result from the local biaxiality of stress state and from the microstructural alteration induced by the transverse load when large plastic deformation occurs.