Study of Viscoplasticity Models for the Impact Behavior of High-Strength Steels

This study reports on modeling the mechanical behavior of high-strength steels subjected to impact loading. The materials studied were steel grades of interest for crashworthiness applications: dual-phase and transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels. The challenges associated with the numerical simulation of impact events involving these materials include the modeling of extensive plastic deformation, particularly the change of material properties with strain rate. Tensile testing was performed at different strain rates on the materials studied. The test results were used to compare and validate constitutive equations that provide a mathematical description of strain-rate dependence of the material properties. The Cowper–Symonds equation and modified variants were examined. The crashworthiness performance of thin-walled sections made of dual-phase and TRIP steels was also investigated. Axial crushing tests were performed at different speeds on top-hat and hexagonal tubes. The experimental results were compared with numerical simulations obtained using an explicit finite element program (LS-DYNA) and the original and modified Cowper–Symonds equations.