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Workhardening
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Workhardening,alsoknownasstrainhardeningorcold
working,isthestrengtheningofametalbyplastic
deformation.Thisstrengtheningoccursbecauseofdislocation
movementsanddislocationgenerationwithinthecrystal
structureofthematerial.[1]Manynonbrittlemetalswitha
reasonablyhighmeltingpointaswellasseveralpolymerscan
bestrengthenedinthisfashion.[2]Alloysnotamenabletoheat
treatment,includinglowcarbonsteel,areoftenwork
hardened.Somematerialscannotbeworkhardenedatlow
temperatures,suchasindium,[3]howeverotherscanonlybe
strengthenedviaworkhardening,suchaspurecopperand
aluminum.[4]

Workhardeningmaybedesirableorundesirabledependingon Aphenomenologicaluniaxialstressstraincurve
thecontext.Anexampleofundesirableworkhardeningis showingtypicalworkhardeningplasticbehaviorof
duringmachiningwhenearlypassesofacutterinadvertently materialsinuniaxialcompression.Forwork
workhardentheworkpiecesurface,causingdamagetothe hardeningmaterialstheyieldstressincreaseswith
cutterduringthelaterpasses.Certainalloysaremoreproneto increasingplasticdeformation.Thestraincanbe
thisthanotherssuperalloyssuchasInconelrequiremachining decomposedintoarecoverableelasticstrain( )
strategiesthattakeitintoaccount.Anexampleofdesirable andaninelasticstrain( ).Thestressatinitial
workhardeningisthatwhichoccursinmetalworking yieldis .
processesthatintentionallyinduceplasticdeformationtoexact
ashapechange.Theseprocessesareknownascoldworkingorcoldformingprocesses.Theyarecharacterizedby
shapingtheworkpieceatatemperaturebelowitsrecrystallizationtemperature,usuallyatambienttemperature.[5]
Coldformingtechniquesareusuallyclassifiedintofourmajorgroups:squeezing,bending,drawing,andshearing.
Applicationsincludetheheadingofboltsandcapscrewsandthefinishingofcoldrolledsteel.Incoldforming,
metalisformedathighspeedandhighpressureusingtoolsteelorcarbidedies.Thecoldworkingofthemetal
increasingthehardness,yieldstrength,andtensilestrength.[6]

Contents
1 History
2 Theory
2.1 Elasticandplasticdeformation
2.2 Dislocationsandlatticestrainfields
2.3 Increaseofdislocationsandworkhardening
2.4 Quantificationofworkhardening
2.5 Example
3 Empiricalrelations
4 Processes
5 Advantagesanddisadvantages
6 References
6.1 Bibliography
7 Externallinks

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History
Copperwasthefirstmetalincommonusefortoolsandcontainerssinceitisoneofthefewmetalsavailablein
nonoxidizedform,notrequiringthesmeltingofanore.Copperiseasilysoftenedbyheatingandthencooling(it
doesnothardenbyquenching,asincoolwater).Inthisannealedstateitmaythenbehammered,stretchedand
otherwiseformed,progressingtowardthedesiredfinalshape,butbecomingharderandlessductileaswork
progresses.Ifworkcontinuesbeyondacertainhardnessthemetalwilltendtofracturewhenworkedandsoitmay
bereannealedperiodicallyastheshapeprogresses.Annealingisstoppedwhentheworkpieceisnearitsfinal
desiredshape,andsothefinalproductwillhaveadesiredstiffnessandhardness.Thetechniqueofrepouss
exploitsthesepropertiesofcopper,enablingtheconstructionofdurablejewelryarticlesandsculptures(including
theStatueofLiberty).

Formetalobjectsdesignedtoflex,suchassprings,specializedalloysareusuallyemployedinordertoavoidwork
hardening(aresultofplasticdeformation)andmetalfatigue,withspecificheattreatmentsrequiredtoobtainthe
necessarycharacteristics.

Devicesmadefromaluminumanditsalloys,suchasaircraft,mustbecarefullydesignedtominimizeorevenly
distributeflexure,whichcanleadtoworkhardeningandinturnstresscracking,possiblycausingcatastrophic
failure.Forthisreasonmodernaluminumaircraftwillhaveanimposedworkinglifetime(dependentuponthetype
ofloadsencountered),afterwhichtheaircraftmustberetired.

Theory
Beforeworkhardening,thelatticeofthematerialexhibitsaregular,nearlydefectfreepattern(almostno
dislocations).Thedefectfreelatticecanbecreatedorrestoredatanytimebyannealing.Asthematerialiswork
hardeneditbecomesincreasinglysaturatedwithnewdislocations,andmoredislocationsarepreventedfrom
nucleating(aresistancetodislocationformationdevelops).Thisresistancetodislocationformationmanifests
itselfasaresistancetoplasticdeformationhence,theobservedstrengthening.

Inmetalliccrystals,irreversibledeformationisusuallycarriedoutonamicroscopicscalebydefectscalled
dislocations,whicharecreatedbyfluctuationsinlocalstressfieldswithinthematerialculminatinginalattice
rearrangementasthedislocationspropagatethroughthelattice.Atnormaltemperaturesthedislocationsarenot
annihilatedbyannealing.Instead,thedislocationsaccumulate,interactwithoneanother,andserveaspinning
pointsorobstaclesthatsignificantlyimpedetheirmotion.Thisleadstoanincreaseintheyieldstrengthofthe
materialandasubsequentdecreaseinductility.

Suchdeformationincreasestheconcentrationofdislocationswhichmaysubsequentlyformlowanglegrain
boundariessurroundingsubgrains.Coldworkinggenerallyresultsinahigheryieldstrengthasaresultofthe
increasednumberofdislocationsandtheHallPetcheffectofthesubgrains,andadecreaseinductility.Theeffects
ofcoldworkingmaybereversedbyannealingthematerialathightemperatureswhererecoveryand
recrystallizationreducethedislocationdensity.

Amaterial'sworkhardenabilitycanbepredictedbyanalyzingastressstraincurve,orstudiedincontextby
performinghardnesstestsbeforeandafteraprocess.[7]

Elasticandplasticdeformation

Workhardeningisaconsequenceofplasticdeformation,apermanentchangeinshape.Thisisdistinctfromelastic
deformation,whichisreversible.Mostmaterialsdonotexhibitonlyoneortheother,butratheracombinationof
thetwo.Thefollowingdiscussionmostlyappliestometals,especiallysteels,whicharewellstudied.Work

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hardeningoccursmostnotablyforductilematerialssuchasmetals.Ductilityistheabilityofamaterialtoundergo
plasticdeformationsbeforefracture(forexample,bendingasteelroduntilitfinallybreaks).

Thetensiletestiswidelyusedtostudydeformationmechanisms.Thisisbecauseundercompression,most
materialswillexperiencetrivial(latticemismatch)andnontrivial(buckling)eventsbeforeplasticdeformationor
fractureoccur.Hencetheintermediateprocessesthatoccurtothematerialunderuniaxialcompressionbeforethe
incidenceofplasticdeformationmakethecompressivetestfraughtwithdifficulties.

Amaterialgenerallydeformselasticallyundertheinfluenceofsmallforcesthematerialreturnsquicklytoits
originalshapewhenthedeformingforceisremoved.Thisphenomenoniscalledelasticdeformation.Thisbehavior
inmaterialsisdescribedbyHooke'sLaw.Materialsbehaveelasticallyuntilthedeformingforceincreasesbeyond
theelasticlimit,whichisalsoknownastheyieldstress.Atthatpoint,thematerialispermanentlydeformedand
failstoreturntoitsoriginalshapewhentheforceisremoved.Thisphenomenoniscalledplasticdeformation.For
example,ifonestretchesacoilspringuptoacertainpoint,itwillreturntoitsoriginalshape,butonceitis
stretchedbeyondtheelasticlimit,itwillremaindeformedandwon'treturntoitsoriginalstate.

Elasticdeformationstretchesthebondsbetweenatomsawayfromtheirequilibriumradiusofseparation,without
applyingenoughenergytobreaktheinteratomicbonds.Plasticdeformation,ontheotherhand,breaksinter
atomicbonds,andthereforeinvolvestherearrangementofatomsinasolidmaterial.

Dislocationsandlatticestrainfields

Inmaterialsscienceparlance,dislocationsaredefinedaslinedefectsinamaterial'scrystalstructure.Thebonds
surroundingthedislocationarealreadyelasticallystrainedbythedefectcomparedtothebondsbetweenthe
constituentsoftheregularcrystallattice.Therefore,thesebondsbreakatrelativelylowerstresses,leadingto
plasticdeformation.

Thestrainedbondsaroundadislocationarecharacterizedbylatticestrainfields.Forexample,thereare
compressivelystrainedbondsdirectlynexttoanedgedislocationandtensilelystrainedbondsbeyondtheendofan
edgedislocation.Theseformcompressivestrainfieldsandtensilestrainfields,respectively.Strainfieldsare
analogoustoelectricfieldsincertainways.Specifically,thestrainfieldsofdislocationsobeysimilarlawsof
attractionandrepulsioninordertoreduceoverallstrain,compressivestrainsareattractedtotensilestrains,and
viceversa.

Thevisible(macroscopic)resultsofplasticdeformationaretheresultofmicroscopicdislocationmotion.For
example,thestretchingofasteelrodinatensiletesterisaccommodatedthroughdislocationmotionontheatomic
scale.

Increaseofdislocationsandworkhardening

Increaseinthenumberofdislocationsisaquantificationofworkhardening.Plasticdeformationoccursasa
consequenceofworkbeingdoneonamaterialenergyisaddedtothematerial.Inaddition,theenergyisalmost
alwaysappliedfastenoughandinlargeenoughmagnitudetonotonlymoveexistingdislocations,butalsoto
produceagreatnumberofnewdislocationsbyjarringorworkingthematerialsufficientlyenough.New
dislocationsaregeneratedinproximitytoaFrankReadsource.

Yieldstrengthisincreasedinacoldworkedmaterial.Usinglatticestrainfields,itcanbeshownthatan
environmentfilledwithdislocationswillhinderthemovementofanyonedislocation.Becausedislocationmotion
ishindered,plasticdeformationcannotoccuratnormalstresses.Uponapplicationofstressesjustbeyondtheyield
strengthofthenoncoldworkedmaterial,acoldworkedmaterialwillcontinuetodeformusingtheonly
mechanismavailable:elasticdeformation,theregularschemeofstretchingorcompressingofelectricalbonds

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(withoutdislocationmotion)continuestooccur,andthemodulusofelasticity
isunchanged.Eventuallythestressisgreatenoughtoovercomethestrain
fieldinteractionsandplasticdeformationresumes.

However,ductilityofaworkhardenedmaterialisdecreased.Ductilityisthe
extenttowhichamaterialcanundergoplasticdeformation,thatis,itishow
faramaterialcanbeplasticallydeformedbeforefracture.Acoldworked
materialis,ineffect,anormal(brittle)materialthathasalreadybeenextended
throughpartofitsallowedplasticdeformation.Ifdislocationmotionand
plasticdeformationhavebeenhinderedenoughbydislocationaccumulation,
andstretchingofelectronicbondsandelasticdeformationhavereachedtheir
limit,athirdmodeofdeformationoccurs:fracture.
Figure1:Theyieldstressofan
orderedmaterialhasahalfroot
Quantificationofworkhardening dependencyonthenumberof
dislocationspresent.
Thestress, ,ofdislocationisdependentontheshearmodulus,G,the
magnitudeoftheBurgersvector,b,andthedislocationdensity, :

where istheintrinsicstrengthofthematerialwithlowdislocationdensityand isacorrectionfactorspecificto

thematerial.

AsshowninFigure1andtheequationabove,workhardeninghasahalfrootdependencyonthenumberof
dislocations.Thematerialexhibitshighstrengthifthereareeitherhighlevelsofdislocations(greaterthan1014
dislocationsperm2)ornodislocations.Amoderatenumberofdislocations(between107and109dislocationsper
m2)typicallyresultsinlowstrength.

Example

Foranextremeexample,inatensiletestabarofsteelisstrainedtojustbeforethedistanceatwhichitusually
fractures.Theloadisreleasedsmoothlyandthematerialrelievessomeofitsstrainbydecreasinginlength.The
decreaseinlengthiscalledtheelasticrecovery,andtheendresultisaworkhardenedsteelbar.Thefractionof
lengthrecovered(lengthrecovered/originallength)isequaltotheyieldstressdividedbythemodulusofelasticity.
(Herewediscusstruestressinordertoaccountforthedrasticdecreaseindiameterinthistensiletest.)Thelength
recoveredafterremovingaloadfromamaterialjustbeforeitbreaksisequaltothelengthrecoveredafter
removingaloadjustbeforeitentersplasticdeformation.

Theworkhardenedsteelbarhasalargeenoughnumberofdislocationsthatthestrainfieldinteractionpreventsall
plasticdeformation.Subsequentdeformationrequiresastressthatvarieslinearlywiththestrainobserved,the
slopeofthegraphofstressvs.strainisthemodulusofelasticity,asusual.

Theworkhardenedsteelbarfractureswhentheappliedstressexceedstheusualfracturestressandthestrain
exceedsusualfracturestrain.Thismaybeconsideredtobetheelasticlimitandtheyieldstressisnowequaltothe
fracturetoughness,whichisofcourse,muchhigherthananonworkhardenedsteelyieldstress.

Theamountofplasticdeformationpossibleiszero,whichisobviouslylessthantheamountofplasticdeformation
possibleforanonworkhardenedmaterial.Thus,theductilityofthecoldworkedbarisreduced.

Substantialandprolongedcavitationcanalsoproducestrainhardening.

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Additionally,jewelerswillconstructstructurallysoundringsandotherwearableobjects(especiallythosewornon
thehands)thatrequiremuchmoredurability(thanearringsforexample)byutilizingamaterial'sabilitytobework
hardened.Whilecastingringsisdoneforanumberofeconomicalreasons(savingagreatdealoftimeandcostof
labor),amasterjewelermayutilizetheabilityofamaterialtobeworkhardenedandapplysomecombinationof
coldformingtechniquesduringtheproductionofapiece.

Empiricalrelations
Therearetwocommonmathematicaldescriptionsoftheworkhardeningphenomenon.Hollomon'sequationisa
powerlawrelationshipbetweenthestressandtheamountofplasticstrain:

whereisthestress,Kisthestrengthindexorstrengthcoefficient,pistheplasticstrainandnisthestrain
hardeningexponent.Ludwik'sequationissimilarbutincludestheyieldstress:

Ifamaterialhasbeensubjectedtopriordeformation(atlowtemperature)thentheyieldstresswillbeincreasedby
afactordependingontheamountofpriorplasticstrain0:

TheconstantKisstructuredependentandisinfluencedbyprocessingwhilenisamaterialpropertynormallylying
intherange0.20.5.Thestrainhardeningindexcanbedescribedby:

Thisequationcanbeevaluatedfromtheslopeofalog()log()plot.Rearrangingallowsadeterminationofthe
rateofstrainhardeningatagivenstressandstrain:

Processes
Thefollowingisalistofcoldformingprocesses:[8]

Rolling
Swaging
Extrusion
Forging
Sizing
Riveting
Staking
Coining
Peening

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Burnishing
Heading
Hubbing
Threadrolling
Bending
Anglebending
Rollbending
Drawandcompression
Rollforming
Seaming
Flanging
Straightening
Shearing
Slitting
Blanking
Piercing
Lancing
Perforating
Notching
Nibbling
Shaving
Trimming
Cutoff
Dinking
Drawing
Tubedrawing
Wiredrawing
Metalspinning
Embossing
Stretchforming
Sheetmetaldrawing
Ironing
Superplasticforming

Techniqueshavebeendesignedtomaintainthegeneralshapeoftheworkpieceduringworkhardening,including
shotpeeningandequalchannelangularextrusion.Therangeofpossibleshapesisratherbroad,includingheads,
threads,steps,knurls,chamfers,grooves,undercuts,andtapers.

Advantagesanddisadvantages
Advantages:[5]

Noheatingrequired
Bettersurfacefinish
Superiordimensionalcontrol
Betterreproducibilityandinterchangeability
Directionalpropertiescanbeimpartedintothemetal
Contaminationproblemsareminimized

Theincreaseinstrengthduetostrainhardeningiscomparabletothatofheattreating.Therefore,itissometimes
moreeconomicaltocoldworkalesscostlyandweakermetalthantohotworkamoreexpensivemetalthatcanbe
heattreated,especiallyifprecisionorafinesurfacefinishisrequiredaswell.Thecoldworkingprocessalso
reduceswasteascomparedtomachining,oreveneliminateswithnearnetshapemethods.[5]Thematerialsavings
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becomesevenmoresignificantatlargervolumes,andevenmoresowhenusingexpensivematerials,suchas
copper,nickel,gold,tantalum,andpalladium.[9]Thesavingonrawmaterialasaresultofcoldformingcanbevery
significant,asissavingmachiningtime.Productioncycletimeswhencoldworkingareveryshort.Onmulti
stationmachinery,productioncycletimesareevenless.Thiscanbeveryadvantageousforlargeproductionruns.

Duringcoldworkingthepartundergoesworkhardeningandthemicrostructuredeformstofollowthecontoursof
thepartsurface.Unlikehotworking,theinclusionsandgrainsdistorttofollowthecontourofthesurface,resulting
inanisotropicengineeringproperties.[10]

Disadvantages:[5]

Greaterforcesarerequired
Heavierandmorepowerfulequipmentandstrongertoolingarerequired
Metalislessductile
Metalsurfacesmustbecleanandscalefree
Intermediateannealsmayberequiredtocompensateforlossofductilitythataccompaniesstrainhardening
Theimparteddirectionalpropertiesmaybedetrimental
Undesirableresidualstressmaybeproduced

Duetothelargecapitalcostsrequiredtosetupacoldworkingprocesstheprocessisusuallyonlysuitableforlarge
volumeproductions.[5]

Intermediateannealingsmayberequiredtoreachtherequiredductilitytocontinuecoldworkingaworkpiece,
otherwiseitmayfractureiftheultimatetensilestrengthisexceeded.Anannealmayalsobeusedtoobtainthe
properengineeringpropertiesrequiredinthefinalworkpiece.Also,thedistortedgrainstructurethatgivesthe
workpieceitssuperiorstrengthcanleadtoresidualstresses.[10]

Coldworkeditemssufferfromaphenomenonknownasspringback,orelasticspringback.Afterthedeforming
forceisremovedfromtheworkpiece,theworkpiecespringsbackslightly.Theamountamaterialspringsbackis
equaltotheyieldstrain(thestrainattheyieldpoint)forthematerial.[11]

References
1.Degarmo,Black&Kohser2003,p.60.
2.VanMelick,H.G.H.Govaert,L.E.Meijer,H.E.H.(2003),"Ontheoriginofstrainhardeninginglassypolymers"(ht
tp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S00323861(03)001125),Polymer,44(8):24932502,doi:10.1016/s00323861(03)001125(http
s://doi.org/10.1016%2Fs00323861%2803%29001125)
3.Swenson,C.A.(1955),"PropertiesofIndiumandThalliumatlowtemperatures",PhysicalReview,100(6):1607.,
doi:10.1103/physrev.100.1607(https://doi.org/10.1103%2Fphysrev.100.1607)
4.Smith&Hashemi2006,p.246.
5.Degarmo,Black&Kohser2003,p.375.
6.DeringerNey,"ColdFormingandColdHeadingProcess"(http://www.deringerney.com/productsandcapabilities/coldfo
rming/coldformingprocess),April29th,2014
7.Cheng,Y.T.Cheng,C.M.(1998),"Scalingapproachtoconicalindentationinelasticplasticsolidswithwork
hardening"(http://dspace.imech.ac.cn/bitstream/311007/16448/1/Scaling%20approach%20to%20conical%20indentation%
20in%20elasticplastic%20solids.pdf)(PDF),JournalofAppliedPhysics,84(3):12841291.,doi:10.1063/1.368196(http
s://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.368196)
8.Degarmo,Black&Kohser2003,p.408.
9.DeringerNey,"ColdFormingandColdHeadingAdvantages"(http://www.deringerney.com/productsandcapabilities/col
dforming/coldformingofmetals/),April29,2014
10.Degarmo,Black&Kohser2003,p.378.
11.Degarmo,Black&Kohser2003,p.376.

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Bibliography

Degarmo,E.PaulBlack,JT.Kohser,RonaldA.(2003),MaterialsandProcessesinManufacturing(9th
ed.),Wiley,ISBN0471656534.
Smith,WilliamF.Hashemi,Javad(2006),FoundationsofMaterialsScienceandEngineering(4thed.),
McGrawHill,ISBN0072953586.

Externallinks
EngineersEdgeWorkhardening(http://www.engineersedge.com/material_science/work_strain_hardening.
htm)
NuclearPowerFundamentalsWorkhardening(http://www.tpub.com/content/doe/h1017v2/css/h1017v2_8
8.htm)

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Strengtheningmechanismsofmaterials

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