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.