Tensile–shear correlations obtained from shear punch test technique using a modified experimental approach

Shear punch testing has been a very useful technique for evaluating mechanical properties of irradiated alloys using a very small volume of material. The load–displacement data is influenced by the compliance of the fixture components. This paper describes a modified experimental approach where the compliances of the punch and die components are eliminated. The analysis of the load–displacement data using the modified setup for various alloys like low carbon steel, SS316, modified 9Cr–1Mo, 2.25Cr–1Mo indicate that the shear yield strength evaluated at 0.2% offset of normalized displacement relates to the tensile YS as per the Von Mises yield relation (σys = 1.73τys). A universal correlation of type UTS = mτmax where m is a function of strain hardening exponent, is seen to be obeyed for all the materials in this study. The use of analytical models developed for blanking process are explored for evaluating strain hardening exponent from the load–displacement data. This study is directed towards rationalizing the tensile–shear empirical correlations for a more reliable prediction of tensile properties from shear punch tests.