On criteria for dynamic adiabatic shear band propagation

In this work, we postulate the physical criterion for dynamic shear band propagation, and based on this assumption, we implement a numerical algorithm and a computation criterion to simulate initiation and propagation of dynamic adiabatic shear bands (ASBs). The physical criterion is based on the hypothesis that material inside the shear band region undergoes a dynamic recrystallization process during deformation under high temperature and high strain-rate conditions. In addition to providing a new perspective to the physics of the adiabatic shearbanding process and identifying material properties that play a crucial role in defining the material's susceptibility to ASBs, the proposed criterion is instrumental in numerical simulations of the propagation of ASBs when multi-physics models are adopted to describe and predict the complex constitutive behavior of ASBs in ductile materials. Systematic and large scale meshfree simulations have been conducted to test and validate the proposed criterion by examining the formation, propagation, and post-bifurcation behaviors of ASBs in two materials, 4340 steel and OFHC copper. The effects of heat conduction, in particular the length scale introduced by heat conduction, are also studied. The results of the numerical simulations are compared with experimental observations and a close agreement is found for various characteristic features of ASBs, such as the shear band width, speed of propagation, and maximum temperature.