Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We investigate the hardness and microstructural evolution of three carbon steels, AISI 1010, 1045, and 1082, over strain rates spanning from quasistatic to extreme regimes ( $$\sim $$ ∼ 10 8 s −1 ) using a self-consistent approach that combines indentation-based methods. While carbon content increases across compositions, the chemistry of individual microstructural constituents remains essentially unchanged; higher carbon primarily alters the relative fractions of ferrite and pearlite, revealing the effect of the second phases on deformation. Hardness evolves in two regimes: at low strain rates, deformation is dominated by dislocation slip and characterized by a decreasing strain rate sensitivity as pearlite content increases, while at high-to-extreme strain rates, hardness exhibits a pronounced hardness upturn, regardless of the steel grade. A simple rule-of-mixtures composite model, combining ferrite and pearlite responses, captures the extreme rate behavior, which is consistent with the Newtonian nature of dislocation drag-dominated plasticity.
Authors: Luciano Borasi, Christopher A. Schuh
Institution: Northwestern University
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,990
OpenAlex ID: W7225074791