Influence of pre-strain on tensile response of extra deep drawing (EDD) steel under varying strain rates and crash performance

Abstract

This study explores the impact of pre-strain on the uniaxial tensile stress-strain behavior of extra deep drawing (EDD) steel at varying strain rates. The EDD steel blanks were subjected to a uniaxial pre-strain of 15 % in either the transverse or rolling direction. Subsequently, uniaxial tensile tests were conducted at different strain rates, both orthogonal and parallel to the initial pre-straining direction. The study also investigates the alterations in yield stress (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS), uniform elongation (UEL), total elongation (TEL), and strain energy absorption (SED, represented by the area under the tensile stress-strain curve) at diverse strain rates after pre-straining. The experimental findings indicate that pre-straining is advantageous for enhancing YS, UTS, and SED. However, this improvement comes at the expense of UEL or TEL. A square crush tube, which shares similarities with automotive components, was examined to assess the crash performance of several automotive structural parts during crash events. A validated constitutive model was used to predict the square tube's energy absorption and crush performance under high-velocity conditions for different pre-straining scenarios.