Lüders bands propagation of 1045 steel under multiaxial stress state

Inhomogeneous plastic deformation of 1045 steel under monotonic loading was experimentally studied. Thin-walled tubular specimens were used in the experiments and custom-made small strain gages were bonded on the specimen surface to characterize the local deformation. Experiments were conducted under tension, torsion, and combined tension–torsion. During the propagation of Lüders bands, the local deformation experienced two-stage deformation: an abrupt plastic deformation stage followed by a slower deformation process. In some area of the gage section of the specimen, a small amount of initial plastic deformation occurred before the Lüders front reached. During the propagation of Lüders bands, multiple Lüders fronts can be formed. Under tension, torsion, and combined tension–torsion with a constant axial load, the Lüders front was approximately parallel to the material plane of maximum shear stress. When the combined axial-torsion followed a proportional fashion, the stress–extensometer strain responses were dependent on the axial/torsional loading ratio, and the Lüders fronts were oriented differently and propagated along the specimen axis at a different velocity. The local strain was inhomogeneous even at the work-hardening stage. The relationships between the equivalent stress and the equivalent plastic strain were found to be practically identical for all the loading cases studied.