Dynamic hardening behaviors of various marine structural steels considering dependencies on strain rate and temperature

• Dynamic tensile tests are carried out for various marine steels.
• A new formula for prediction of the dynamic hardening effect is presented.
• Various strain rates and temperatures are considered.
• Dynamic hardening factors (DHFs) are derived as a function of the plastic strain and strain rate.

This paper presents a new formula for prediction of the dynamic hardening effect for various marine structural steels, considering dependencies on the strain rates and temperatures. Dynamic tensile tests are carried out for three kinds of marine steels, 2W50, EH36, and DH36, changing the steel layer in the thickness direction, the strain rates, and temperatures. Considering two thickness layers at the middle and surface, five strain rate levels of 0.001/s, 1/s, 10/s, 100/s, and 200/s, three temperature levels of LT (−40 °C), RT, and HT (200 °C), and two repetitions, the total number of tests is 180. Dynamic hardening is clearly seen at LT and RT regardless of the material type, while dynamic strain aging occurs at HT, leads to negative strain rate sensitivity, and thus elevates the quasi-static flow stress above the dynamic flow stress to a certain strain rate. Dynamic hardening factors (DHFs) are derived as a function of the proof strains of 0.05, 0.10, and 0.15 according to each material type and temperature level. A new formula to determine the material constant D of Cowper–Symonds constitutive equation is developed. The correctness of the proposed formula is verified through comparison with test flow stress curves and reference test data in large plastic strain and high strain rate ranges.