Ductile crack initiation behavior in steels with compressive prestrain

It is well known that compressive prestrain reduces ductility in steels. On the other hand, it has also been found that high stress triaxiality reduces equivalent plastic strain at the onset of ductile fracture. In this research, plate specimens and notched bar specimens, which were prestrained in compression with bending, were used in reversed bending tests, and the effect of compressive prestrain on ductile crack initiation in steels was investigated. It was found that small ductile cracks occurred from the microscopic "wrinkles" which were formed on the concave surface with compressive prestrain. The critical relationship between stress triaxiality and equivalent plastic strain at ductile crack initiation was investigated by finite-element analysis. It was found that ductile crack initiation in steels with compressive prestrain can be estimated qualitatively by the relationship between stress triaxiality and equivalent plastic strain.