1

Effect Of Temperature & Strain Rate On

Flow Properties
2
The stress-strain curve and the flow and fracture
properties of a material are strongly dependent on:
- strain rate
- temperature at which the test was conducted.

In general strength decreases and ductility increases as:
- strain rate is decreased, or
- the test temperature is increased.


3
Figure 2-1. Yield strength changes as a function of (a) temperature
and (b) strain
4
Figure 2-2. Effect of strain rate and temperature on stress-
strain curves.
5
Figure 2-3. Changes in engineering stress-strain curve of mild steel
with temperature.
6
This general behavior may not take place in certain
temperature ranges if structural changes such as
precipitation, strain aging, or recrystallization
occur.
The above thermally activated processes can assist
deformation and reduce or increase strength at
elevated temperatures.
When materials are deformed at high temperatures
and/or long exposure, structural changes can occur
resulting in time-dependent deformation or creep.

7
Figure 2-4. Effect of temperature on the yield strength of body-
centered cubic Ta, W, Mo, Fe, and face-centered cubic Ni
8
Note
For the bcc metals (see Fig. 2.4), the yield stress increases
rapidly with decreasing temperature.

For Ni and most fcc metals, the yield stress is only slightly
temperature dependent.

Fig. 2.4 can also be used to understand why most bcc metals
exhibit brittle fracture at low temperatures.

A comparison of the flow stress of two materials at elevated
temperature requires a correction for the effect of temperature
on Elastic Modulus.
9
The temperature dependence of flow stress at constant strain and
strain rate can be given by:




where Q is the activation energy for plastic flow, C
2
is a constant,
T is the testing temperature and R is the universal gas constant

A plot of lno versus 1/T will give a straight line with a slope Q/R

The activation energy Q can be determined by performing two
tensile tests at two temperatures, T
1
and T
2
and at a constant
strain rate.

2-1
-
|
.
|

\
|
=
c c
o
,
2
exp
RT
Q
C
1 2
2 1
2
1
ln
T T
T T
R Q

|
.
|

\
|
=
o
o
2-2
10
Equation 2.1 can also be written as:



where AH is an activation energy (calorie per mole). It is related
to the activation energy of Eq. 2.1 by Q = m AH, where m is the
strain rate sensitivity.

Z is the Zener-Hollomon parameter or temperature-modified
strain rate.
( )
c
c o
|
.
|

\
|
A = =
-
) exp( RT H f Z f 2-3
( )
RT
H
Z
A
=
-
exp c
2-4
11
The above equation can be written in a different form for hot-
working conditions:


where A, o, and n are experimentally determined constants

At low stresses (oo < 1.0), Eq. 2.5 reduces to:



The power law equation (Eq. 2.6) can be used to describe
creep, and superplasticity to some extent.
|
.
|

\
|
=
-
RT
Q
A
n
exp ) (sinh
'
oo c
2-5
|
.
|

\
|
=
-
RT
Q
A
n
exp
'
1
o c
2-6
12
At high stresses (oo > 1.2), Eq. 2.5 reduces to:




The constants o and n can be determined from tests at high
and low stresses.
|
.
|

\
|
=
-
RT
Q
n A exp ) ' exp(
2
oo c
2-7
13
Strain Rate Effects
Lowest range of strain rates Creep and Stress Relaxation
Intermediate range 10
-4
< c < 10
-2
Hot working/Tensile test
Highest range

shock wave or explosive test

Stress-strain curves can be sensitive to strain rate
flow stress increases with strain rate
work hardening rate may also increase with strain rate


-
c
14
Two parameters used to describe the above effects are:
- Strain rate sensitivity (m), and this is given as:



and

where





T
m
, ln
ln
c c
o
-
c
c
=
(2.8)
T
w
s
, ln
ln
c c
-
c
c
=
T
d
d
w
, c
c
o
=
(2.9)
15
Equations 2.8 and 2.9 can be expressed as








It is possible to determine m from tensile tests by changing the
strain rate suddenly and by measuring the instantaneous
change in stress. This technique is illustrated in Fig. 2.5.
(2.10)
m
K
-
= c o
s
K
d
d -
= c
c
o
'
(2.11)
16
Figure 2-5. Strain-rate changes during tensile test. Four strain
rates are shown: 10
-1
, 10
-2
, 10
-3
, and 10
-4
s
-1
.
17
Applying Equation 2.10 and 2.11 to two strain rates and
eliminating K, we have:






One can easily obtain m from the strain rate changes in Figure 2-5

The parameter m is important in accessing the superplasticity of
materials
(2.12)
( )
|
.
|

\
|
=
- -
1 2
1 2
/ ln
/ ln
c c
o o
m
18
Constitutive Equations
Describe the relations between stress and strain in terms of the
variables of strain rate and temperature

Early concept: f(o,c,c,T) = 0
Analogous to equilibrium in thermodynamics system which
states that:
f(P, V, T) = 0

There are several forms of constitutive relations, including the
simple power law relation (Hollomon equation) and its
variants.
19
o = f(Z) = f(ce
AH/RT
)
c


where Z is called the Zener-Hollomon parameter, AH is an
activation energy (calorie per mole), of which Q = m AH

c = A(sinhoo)
n`
e
-Q/RT



where A, o, and n` are experimentally determined constants
Other Examples of Constitutive Relations
(2.3)
(2.5)
20
At low stresses (oo < 1.0) :


where A, o, and n` are experimentally determined constants.
At high stresses (oo > 1.2), and the equation reduces to:




The constants o and n` are related by | = on`
Constitutive Relations (cont)
(2.6)
(2.7)
RT Q
e A
/
2
) exp(

-
= |o c
RT Q n
e A
/ '
1

-
= o c
21
Figure 2-6. Stress-strain curves for AISI 1040 steel subjected to
different heat treatments; curves obtained from tensile test.