Four-point bending test of the Bauschinger effect in prestrained IF steel thin sheet

The Bauschinger effect in a 1 mm thick sheet of interstitial free (IF) steel was examined by tensile testing (prestraining) and subsequent four-point bending. The effect was absent when the prestrain was below 4% and was present when the prestrain was above 4%. The Bauschinger effect parameter determined the elastic back stress which developed after prestraining. The occurrence of back stress coincided with the development of dislocation cell structures, observed with transmission electron microscopy.