Chin. J. Mech. Eng.

DOI 10.1007/s10033-017-0086-4

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Work Hardening Behavior of 1020 Steel During Cold-Beating

Simulation
Fengkui CUI1,2 • Yuanfei LING1,2 • Jinxue XUE1,2 • Jia LIU1,2 • Yuhui LIU1,2 •

Yan LI3

Received: 17 November 2016 / Revised: 28 December 2016 / Accepted: 6 January 2017

Ó Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2017

Abstract The present research of cold-beating formation hardening effect. Additionally, the change law of the work
mainly focused on roller design and manufacture, kine- hardening rate is investigated, the relationship between
matics, constitutive relation, metal flow law, thermo-me- dislocation density and strain, the relationship between
chanical coupling, surface micro-topography and work hardening rate and dislocation density is obtained.
microstructure evolution. However, the research on surface Results show that the change trend of the work hardening
quality and performance of workpieces in the process of rate of 1020 steel is divided into two stages, the work
cold-beating is rare. Cold-beating simulation experiment of hardening rate decreases dramatically in the first stage and
1020 steel is conducted at room temperature and strain slowly decreases in the second stage, finally tending toward
rates ranging from 2000 to 4000 s-1 base on the law of zero. Dislocation density increases with increasing strain
plastic forming. According to the experimental data, the and strain rate, work hardening rate decreases with
model of strain hardening of 1020 steel is established, increasing dislocation density. The research results provide
Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM) is conducted, the the basis for solving the problem of improving the surface
mechanism of the work hardening of 1020 steel is clarified quality and performance of workpieces under cold-beating
by analyzing microstructure variation of 1020 steel. It is formation of 1020 steel.
found that the strain rate hardening effect of 1020 steel is
stronger than the softening effect induced by increasing Keywords 1020 steel  Cold-beating  Work hardening 
temperatures, the process of simulation cold-beating cause Grain  Dislocation density
the grain shape of 1020 steel significant change and
microstructure elongate significantly to form a fibrous tis-
sue parallel to the direction of deformation, the higher 1 Introduction
strain rate, the more obvious grain refinement and the more
The high-quality carbon structural steel known as 1020
steel is widely-used in gears, splines, ball screw and many
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant other parts due to the good plasticity and toughness
Nos. 551475146, 51475366, 51075124).
exhibited by materials formed by cold-beating. The tech-
& Yuanfei LING nology of high-speed cold-beating forming applies the
[email protected] characteristic of the plastic forming of mental and uses the
1
high-speed beating roller to roll and beat the blank so that it
School of Mechatronics Engineering, Henan University of
Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, China
is an environmental and near-net forming processing
2
method of making mental flow into parts profile [1].
Collaborative Innovation Center of Machinery Equipment
However, the forming process is accompanied by the work
Advanced Manufacturing of Henan Province, Henan
University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, hardening of a workpiece surface due to mechanical force.
China Work hardening is one of the important indexes for eval-
3
School of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering, uating the surface quality of workpiece, it is also one of the
Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China important factors that affect the surface integrity. Work

123
 Fengkui CUI et al.

hardening can improve the hardness and wear resistance of metal law of least resistance, the flow of metal in the cold-
the workpiece, improve the yield limit of the material and beating forming area was analyzed and the simulation
enhance its resistance to deformation, but the wear of the value was gathered to get the motion trail of forming area
rolling wheel is simultaneously increased. In order to node. Besides, they also discussed the forming node
improve the surface quality and performance of a cold- coordinate variation trend of single pass cold-beating and
beating formation workpiece and prolong the service life of summarized the metal flow rule during the process of cold-
rolling wheels, the cold-beating formation mechanism of beating. In the regard of thermo-mechanical coupling
1020 steel was analyzed, and a model of work hardening forming theory, ZHANG, et al. [12, 13], conducted the
was established. This work is of great theoretical signifi- analysis of theoretical model based on thermo-mechanical
cance and of value to many engineering applications. coupling, which showed that the heat dissipation of irre-
In the past ten years, extensive studies have been carried versible plastic and the effect of the generation of heat by
out on cold-beating forming technology, which is repre- friction on the workpiece and the section of beating roll
sented by the research group in Xi’an University of caused the production of heat during the cold-beating
Technology and Henan University of Science and Tech- forming. In addition, the center point of fields coupling is
nology. In the design and manufacture of rollers, CUI, et al. the energy transformation during the process of cold-
[2–4], used forming method to design and manufacture beating forming. In the surface micro-topography, LIANG,
rollers without inaccurate outline, and built up a math et al. [14], analyzed the reasons of the ripple that formed
model of rollers outline design, in which the experimental during the cold-beating process and then found out the
method was applied to correct the theoretical outline of expression of the ripple’s height, which was corrected
rollers. They developed a simulation system of rollers, according to simulation results. Besides, the ripple which
verified the correctness of the design and manufacture of was produced on the workpiece’s surface during the cold-
rollers and carried out a series of process experiments of beating process was measured and compared between the
actual spline shaft, which made the formation of cold- theory and experiments, which tested the correctness of the
beating have higher machining precision. From the aspect expression of ripple’s height after correction. From the
of kinematics, MA, et al. [5], analyzed the theory of aspect of microstructure evolution, WANG, et al. [15, 16],
interference phenomenon between cold-beating and work- have built up evolution models of microstructure, which is
pieces, designed and improved the structure of cold-beating based on dislocation density of 40Cr. The study has iden-
head. Without changing the rollers’ outline, the forming tified the connection between the macroscopic and micro-
error was reduced and the reasonability of the improvement cosmic of cold-beating forming, and explained the change
of cold-beating head’s structure was also tested with law of 40Cr during the process of cold-beating forming.
experiments. LI, et al. [6], applied the software Deform to Many scholars conducted research focused on the work
analyze this technology at various deformation areas, in hardening behavior of materials by combining theoretical
various temperature, at various rate, which made the and experimental analyses. RENARD, et al. [17], reported
foundation of deeply studying the technology of high-speed the changes in the work hardening rate and microstructure
cold-beating forming. Using the method of simulation and of TWIP steel revealed by tensile test at high temperatures;
experiments, YUAN, et al. [7], analyzed the deformation the relationship between the work hardening and twinning
force and effect law between the technological parameter rates of TWIP steel was analyzed, a method for predicting
and deformation force during the process of cold-beating the twinning rate of TWIP steel was proposed, and the
forming of block materials, the results of which provide reliability of the proposed method was verified by an
effective evidence of the choice of technological parameter Electron Backscatter Diffraction experiment. YANG, et al.
and the control of the forming process. In the constitutive [18], established a mathematical model describing the
relation, LI, et al. [8, 9], carried out the SHPB experiments relationship between the work hardening rate and the
of 40Cr under various kinds of temperatures and rates and stress/strain of titanium alloys. The work hardening effect
built up a constitutive model of dynamic plasticity of cold- is characterized by obvious stages as strain is applied:
beating. They also made a comparison between the stress– steady fluctuations with a linear decrease. The work
strain relationship predicted by the model and the experi- hardening effect of titanium alloys is obvious at low tem-
ment status, which tested the correctness of the model and perature and high strain rates; the work hardening rate
indicated the relationship between the macroscopical increases rapidly with increases in temperature, while the
deformation and formability effect and thus provided the- strain rate simultaneously decreases. WANG, et al. [19],
oretical base for studying the process of cold-beating. In established the dynamic recrystallization model of low
the metal flow, QUAN, et al. [10, 11], built up a local carbon steel based on data obtained from compression tests
contact model of rollers and spline shaft base during the at high temperatures and low strain rates; the critical
cold round-beating forming process. According to the conditions of the dynamic recrystallization of low carbon

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Work Hardening Behavior of 1020 Steel During Cold-Beating Simulation

steel were determined based on the strain hardening curve. laser transformation [27], plasma-electrolysis boronizing
The work hardening and dynamic softening mechanisms of [28]; however, there is no report to date regarding the work
low carbon steel in a hot forming process were also ana- hardening of 1020 steel formed by cold-beating. Therefore,
lyzed; results indicate that higher volume fractions of in this paper, the model of strain hardening of 1020 steel
dynamic recrystallization result in Z values (model was established based on simulation cold-beating data, the
parameter). BUI, et al. [20], compared the finite element microscopic mechanism of 1020 steel was verified by SEM
simulation and experimental results of the cold roll-form- and the relationship among the three of work hardening
ing process applied to steel sheet; results indicate that the rate, strain and dislocation; the aim of the current work is to
quality of the steel sheet manufactured by cold roll-forming improve the surface quality and performance of 1020 steel
is primarily influenced by the yield limit and the exponent under cold-beating by controlling work hardening degree.
of work hardening, and that formation speed and fiction
coefficient provide minor influence. This conclusion pro-
vides the basis for the optimization of the cold roll-forming 2 Cold-Beating Simulation Experiment
process.
SARKAR, et al. [21], established a work hardening 2.1 Experiment Materials
model of an a-Ti alloy based on tensile test data after the
materials were aged at different temperatures; the work The experiment used 1020 steel; the chemical composition
hardening characteristics of a a-Ti alloy were reported of 1020 steel is depicted in Table 1. All studied specimens
from a microscopic perspective, based on transmission were cylindrical with a diameter of U8 mm and a length of
electron microscopy. SINCLAIR, et al. [22], studied the 6 mm, and the hardness value equal to 160–170 HB. The
work hardening behavior of polycrystalline copper based specimen fabrication procedure consisted of turning, wire
on tensile tests conducted at low temperatures; results cutting and grinding.
indicate that during the initial plastic deformation stage,
grains size has a dominant effect on the work hardening of 2.2 Experiment Equipment
polycrystalline copper. When the strain is large, grain size
has no effect on work hardening due to the dynamic Dynamic characteristic tests were conducted at various
recovery effect of the grain boundary. DEL VALLE, et al. strain rates using a cold-beating simulation apparatus, as
[23], studied magnesium-based alloys formed with various shown in Fig. 1. The microstructure of specimens was
plastic deformation methods(equal channel angular press- observed using a JSM-5610LV scanning electron micro-
ing and large-strain hot rolling); results indicate that the scope apparatus, as shown in Fig. 2.
changing basal slip orientation factor effects both disloca-
tion storage and dynamic recovery, and that refinement of 2.3 Experiment Parameters
the grain size induces a strong decrease in the work hard-
ening rate. A reasonable explanation for these phenomena The specimens were divided into four groups; each group
is provided by the grain boundary sliding theory. DAS, was tested at a strain rate of 2000 s-1, 2500 s-1, 3000 s-1
et al. [24], analyzed the microstructure of low carbon fer- and 4000 s-1. The experiments were all conducted at room
rite-martensite dual-phase steel affected by different heat temperature.
treatments by using the Crussard-Jaoul method, which
consists of three work hardening stages which enable 2.4 Experiment Procedures
intermediate quenching and intercritical annealing samples,
whereas the step quenching samples were exposed to only Device schematic of Simulation of cold-beating apparatus
two stages. The work hardening behavior observed with is shown in Fig. 3. Two ends of the specimens were
intermediate quenching leads to the current analysis of smeared with polishing paste (Al2O3), and were polished
low-carbon ferrite-martensite dual-phase steel with high with a polishing machine until all obvious surface
strength and good ductility as influenced by different scratchers were eliminated. The cold-beating experimental
methods of heat treatment. simulation was conducted at various strain rates. The pol-
The present research of cold-beating formation is mainly ished surface of each specimen was wiped with alcohol,
focus on roller design and manufacture, kinematics, con-
stitutive relation, metal flow law, thermo-mechanical cou-
Table 1 Chemical composition of 1020 steel (mass fraction, %)
pling, surface micro-topography and microstructure
evolution, and the study on work hardening of 1020 steel C Si Mn P S Ni Cr
mainly include quenching and quenching plus tempering
0.20 0.17–0.37 0.35 * 0.65 B0.035 B0.035 B0.30 B0.25
treatments [25], fine-blanking with negative clearance [26],

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 Fengkui CUI et al.

measurement device. The contact surface between the

specimen and the impact rod was machined until it was
smooth to ensure that the surfaces could achieve full con-
tact. The two strain gauges were connected in series and
pasted onto the impact bar. Experimental data was
extracted from the recorded intelligent measurements; the
incident wave, reflected wave and transmitted wave were
obtained from the strain indicator based on the measure-
ment system of the experiment table.
The surface of specimens under cold-beating formation
simulation were cleaned with acetone before being cor-
roded by an alcohol solution containing 3% nitrate until
the surface was gray, and corrosion ceased to progress.
Next, the surfaces of all specimens were dried after
washing with distilled water; a high vacuum was initialized
Fig. 1 Simulation of cold-beating apparatus after the specimens were placed on the instrument table.
When the appropriate vacuum degree was reached, the
electron gun automatically increased the pressure 20 kv,
and the scanning electron microscope entered the working
state. Satisfactory images were obtained by moving the
sample table near the computer, adjusting the magnifica-
tion and focus, and observing the specimens’ surfaces. Still
photos were taken of the surface microstructures. The
specimens were then cut along the axis by a wire cutting
machine, and the half-cylindrical specimens were embed-
ded. After being finished, the side faces of all specimens
were polished and corroded, and the microstructure of the
layer depth direction was observed by scanning electron
microscope.

2.5 Experiment Results

Fig. 2 JSM-5610LV scanning electron microscope apparatus
The relationship between the stress, strain and strain rate of
the materials with respect to time were obtained based on
1D stress wave theory [29]. Engineering stress and strain
were transformed into true stress and strain, and the aver-
age values of the four experimental groups were respec-
tively obtained:
Ab
rE ¼ E eT R; ð1Þ
As
Z
2C0 t
eE ¼ eR dt; ð2Þ
L 0
Fig. 3 Device schematic of Simulation of cold-beating apparatus 2C0
e_E ¼ eR ; ð3Þ
L
after which the surfaces of all specimens were smeared
with lithium-based grease to reduce the effect of friction on where Ab represents cross section area of compression bar,
the end face. Changes in strain rate were achieved by As represents cross section area of sample, eT represents
adjusting the pressure of the high pressure chamber in the transmission wave pulse, eR represents reflected wave
transmitting device to control the velocity of the bullet. The pulse, L represents the length of sample, C0 represents
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
gas chamber pressure of the four respective groups was elastic wave velocity of compression bar, C0 ¼ E=q, E
0.4 MPa, 0.5 MPa, 0.7 MPa, 0.9 MPa. The velocity of the represents elastic modulus of sample, q represents density
bullet impact specimen was measured by a laser of sample.

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Work Hardening Behavior of 1020 Steel During Cold-Beating Simulation

The true stress–strain curve of 1020 steel at different

strain rates is shown in Fig. 4. Figure 5 depicts the original
microstructure of a 1020 steel specimen. The surface
microscope of 1020 steel specimens exposed to cold-
beating at different strain rates is shown in Fig. 6. The
microstructure of the side face of 1020 steel specimens
undergoing cold-beating simulation at different strain rates
is shown in Fig. 7.

3 Work Hardening Mechanism of 1020 Steel

It is known that the cold-beating process includes an elastic

deformation stage and a plastic deformation stage, as
shown in Fig. 4. The plastic deformation of 1020 steel at a
high strain rate is a competitive process of the strain Fig. 5 Original microstructure of 1020 steel
hardening effect, strain rate hardening effect and the soft-
ening effect induced by rising temperatures. During the appeared to follow a certain direction and gradually
plastic deformation stage, the true stress of 1020 steel extended to the direction of deformation; fine and larger
increased with increasing strain and strain rate, indicating pearlite grains were distributed and criss-crossed along the
that the strain rate hardening effect of 1020 steel is stronger ferrite boundaries. As strain accumulated, the pearlite
than the softening effect induced by increasing pellet became ambiguous, the sheet layer space was
temperatures. reduced, the degree of bending and torsion became
According to Fig. 5, the original microstructure of 1020 increasingly extreme, and the microstructure elongated
steel is ferrite and pearlite, ferrite; pearlite grains are dis- significantly to form a fibrous tissue parallel to the direc-
tributed in the shape of a cell, the grain boundary is tion of deformation. Grain refinement created increasing
obvious, pearlite is randomly arranged in various direc- grain boundaries which hindered the slip of dislocation;
tions, and the microstructure consists of a present sheet thus, the dislocation was stored and dislocation density
layer shape with relatively uniform distribution. According increased, which in turn enhance resistance to material
to Fig. 6, the lattice was broken during the plastic defor- deformation and improve fatigue life [30].
mation process of the cold-beating simulation; although The macro-performance perspective reveals the work
pearlite was observed in a sheet layer shape, several frag- hardening effect. The short duration of the cold-beating
ments of the pearlite interior formed a large number of simulation indicates that the process may be considered to
interfaces which divided the ferrite into fine grains and be an adiabatic temperature rise, in which heat generated
resulting in non-identical atoms in different grains. The by plastic deformation increased the free energy of the
pearlite stripe was no longer uni-directional, and the ferrite material. Material in a metastable state has a tendency to
grains became more refined as strain and strain rate transform prior to deformation, increasing the motion of
increased. According to Fig. 7, the equiaxed ferrite grains dislocation; the intersection between positive and negative
in the direction of layer depth were twisted and bent, which would lead to dislocation annihilation, so as to decrease the
dislocation density. The dislocation slip was easily
observed, verifying that the macro-performance demon-
strated a dynamic softening effect.

4 Establishment of Strain Hardening Model

of 1020 Steel

The strain hardening law proposed by Voce [31], which

describes the variation of stress values from initiation to
saturation at a given strain rate and temperature, it can be
expressed as follows:
r ¼ rS  ðrS  rI Þ exp½nV ðe  eI Þ; ð4Þ
Fig. 4 True stress–strain curve of 1020 steel at different strain rates

123
 Fengkui CUI et al.

(a) 2000 s–1 (b) 4000 s–1

(c) 2000 s–1 (d) 4000 s–1

Fig. 6 Microstructure of the side face of specimens at different strain rates

(a) 2000 s–1 (b) 4000 s–1

Fig. 7 Microstructure of the side face of specimens at different strain rates

where rS represents the saturation stress; rI and eI represent situation and effectively predict the flow stress of 1020
true stress and true stain at the onset of plastic deformation, steel at different strain rates. The Voce model parameters
respectively; and nV is a material parameter. Least squares are shown in Table 2.
was done between Voce model and experimental data
representing plastic deformation at different strain rates, as 5 Change Law of work Hardening Rate of 1020
shown in Fig. 8. Steel
It is known that flow stress at different strain rates
predicted by the Voce model are consistent with the The work hardening rate refers to the degree of speed
experimental data depicted in Fig. 8, indicating that the variation of flow stress of a material with increasing strain
Voce model can accurately reflect the real experimental during the process of plastic deformation. The work

123
Work Hardening Behavior of 1020 Steel During Cold-Beating Simulation

nearly identical, and divided into two primary stages. In the

first stage, the work hardening rate is greater at the onset of
plastic deformation, and decreases dramatically as strain
increases. In the second stage, the work hardening rate
slowly decreases as strain increases, finally tending toward
zero. In the first stage, the lower strain rate and lower work
hardening rate is directly contrary to those observed during
the second stage, indicating that 1020 steel strengthened as
strain rate increased during the first stage and weakened as
strain increased during the second stage. The deformation
of 1020 steel is primarily induced by ferrite after the yield
limit is reached, when the deformation of ferrite grains are
restrained by the surrounding grains due to polycrystalline
continuity, which simultaneously creates numerous slip
Fig. 8 Experimental data at different strain rates fixed by the Voce systems in the vicinity of the grain boundary [33]. The
model deformation of ferrite grains can produce a large number of
dislocations distributed in the vicinity of the pearlite, in
which the resistance to dislocation slip is very high.
Table 2 Voce model parameters at different strain rates
Under high strain rates, the average velocity of dislo-
Strain rate e9/s-1 2000 2500 3000 4000 cation motion increases as strain rate increases. Many
dislocations were quickly hindered in the vicinity of grain
Initial stress r/MPa 288.8 320.4 340.1 445.1
boundaries, which formed a collection of dislocations and
Saturation stress r/MPa 381 412.5 444.5 512.8
led the dislocation density to increase dramatically, sub-
Initial strain e/(mmmm-1) 0.002 3 0.003 0 0.007 0 0.001 6
sequently increasing the work hardening rate of the 1020
Parameter nv –50 –35 –27 –25
steel. The work hardening rate decreased rapidly as strain
increased because the accumulation of dislocations on the
same slip plane formed a barrier at the front; the back of
the dislocation on the main slip crossed the barrier and
continued to move forward, inducing the increase in stress
speed as strain increased.
The heat generated by the plastic deformation increased
with increasing strain, which caused temperature rise near
the ferrite-pearlite grain boundaries; the pearlite was more
prone to deformation, thus weakening the strain hardening
effect of ferrite, and making dislocation slip more easily
achievable. The hardening effect was offset by the softening
effect induced by rising temperatures; the temperature-re-
lated softening effect became gradually more pronounced,
eventually becoming dominant. This caused the strain to
increase to a certain threshold value, at which the work
hardening rate decreased slowly as strain continued to
Fig. 9 Relationship between work hardening rate and true strain at
different strain rates increase. At this time, as strain increased, the strain hard-
ening effect entered into the second progressive stage, in
hardening rate is derived according to the following defi- which hardening ferrite and pearlite were deformed, and the
nition [32]: refinement of ferrite improved the plastic deformation bar-
rier. Higher strain rates resulted in more dramatic ferrite
dr
h¼ : ð5Þ refinement, explaining why the strain hardening effect of
de
1020 steel entered into the second stage as strain rate con-
The relationship between the work hardening rate and tinued to increase. As shown in Fig. 8, obvious reflection
the strain curves of 1020 steel under different strain rates points resulted from the stacking fault energy of 1020 steel.
shown in Fig. 9, derived according to Eq. (5) and the The dislocation slip and climb was more prone to occur [34],
parameters detailed in Table 2. The trend in the work forcing the plastic deformation of 1020 steel into the second
hardening rate of 1020 steel at different strain rates is stage, corresponding with small strain values.

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 Fengkui CUI et al.

6 Micro Model of Work Hardening of 1020 Steel Eq. (6) can be expressed as follows:
pffiffiffiffiffi rs
The dislocation is distributed uniformly on the surface of qs ¼ : ð11Þ
MaGb
each specimen; each dislocation segment is divided into
locking dislocation and mobile dislocation. The flow stress The value of k1, k2 at different strain rates were obtained
is primarily affected by mobile dislocation, which is according to the experimental data as shown in Fig. 2,
approximately equal to the total dislocation density of the Eqs. (8), (10) and (11), and are summarized in Table 3.
specimen. The Taylor relation [35] has been widely-used to The following equation can be obtained according to
characterize the flow stress response to dislocation density Eqs. (9) and (10):
in plastic deformation: hpffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffi k2 i2
pffiffiffi q¼ qs  qs  q0 e 2 ðee0 Þ : ð12Þ
r ¼ MaGb q; ð6Þ
where M represents the average Taylor factor *3.06, a The relationship between the dislocation density and
represents the Taylor constant *0.5, G represents the shear strain at different strain rates was obtained according to
modulus *1.7 9 105 MPa, and b represents the Burgers Eq. (12), the parameters from Table 3, and experimental
vector *3.2 9 10-8 cm. The strain hardening and data from Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 10, the dislocation
dynamic softening effects on dislocation density can fur- density is relatively large when the strain rate is equal to
ther influence flow stress. Strain hardening leads to 4000 s-1, the dislocation density is relatively small when
increasing dislocation density; dynamic softening leads to the strain rate is equal to 2000 s-1, and dislocation density
decreasing dislocation density. During the cold-beating increases with increasing strain rate. The primary expla-
simulation process, the change in dislocation density with nation for this is that as strain increases, the deformation is
increasing strain is determined by two segments [36]: completed in a shorter amount of time; the number of
  dislocations, the velocity of the dislocation motion and the
dr=de ¼ dq=destorage  dq=derecovery : ð7Þ opportunity of dislocation intersect increased, which led
flow stress accelerate significantly. The strain hardening of
Kocks proposed that the square root of the dislocation
1020 steel caused by dislocation density increased with
density of a material is proportional to the increasing speed
increasing strain, which induced the curve to rise under
of dislocation density, and that the decrease in dislocation
high strain rates; alternatively, the dynamic softening effect
density is related to the absolute value of dislocation den-
of 1020 steel caused by the heat generated by fast plastic
sity. Based on findings of previous studies, the KOCKS
deformation decreased dislocation density rapidly, induc-
model [37] is widely-used to describe the relationship
ing the curve to rise and tend to a constant under high strain
between the dislocation density of a material and strain in
rates.
plastic deformation. During the plastic deformation stage
There are two main factors that affect the hardening rate
of 1020 steel, stress value does not fluctuate and disloca-
during plastic deformation: one is the internal factor, that
tion density changes obviously with the increase of strain
is, the characteristics of the material itself such as shear
under the same stain rate, Kocks model can be used to
modulus, Burgers vector, etc.; the other is the external
show the change of dislocation density of 1020 steel shown
factor, that is, strain, strain rate and temperature, affect the
in the following equation:
hardening rate by affecting the dislocation density.
dq pffiffiffi
¼ k1 q  k2 q; ð8Þ dr dr dq MaGb  pffiffiffi 
de h¼ ¼  ¼ pffiffiffi k1 q  k2 q : ð13Þ
de dq de 2 q
where k1 represents the hardening coefficient, k2 represents
softening coefficient, and k2 = -2nv. The relationship between the work hardening rate and
Eq. (8) can be expressed by the following integral: dislocation density at different strain rates was obtained
    according to the parameters from Table 3 and results
pffiffiffi k1 pffiffiffiffiffi k1 k2
q¼ þ q0  exp  ðe  e0 Þ : ð9Þ shown in Fig. 11. The initial and final dislocation density
k2 k2 2
The dislocation storage and annihilation reached a bal- Table 3 Parameter values at different strain rates
anced state when the stress value reached its peak, and the
Strain rate e9/s-1 2000 2500 3000 4000
work hardening rate h = 0. Eq. (8) can be expressed as
follows: k1/106 4.58 3.47 2.8 3.08
pffiffiffiffiffi k1 k2 381 70 54 50
qs ¼ : ð10Þ
k2

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Work Hardening Behavior of 1020 Steel During Cold-Beating Simulation

the effect of the dislocation accumulation was more obvi-

ous, which hindered the dynamic recovery, prolonged
dynamic recrystallization, and resulted in the obvious
phenomenon of work hardening. Plastic deformation is
divided into two parts: the primary portion is converted
into heat to increase the temperature of the specimen, and
the remainder is used to induce microstructural change
[38]. High strain rates generate more heat in unit time,
resulting in more obvious softening effects. However, the
hardening effect was still dominant before equilibrium.
With the increase of strain and strain rate, more dislocation
accumulates, resulting in a higher final dislocation density.

Fig. 10 Relationship between dislocation density and strain

7 Conclusions

(1) The basic mechanical parameters of 1020 steel were

obtained based on cold-beating simulation experi-
ment; the Voce model was established based on
experimental data to accurately describe the strain
hardening of 1020 steel.
(2) The cold-beating simulation is affected by the strain
hardening effect, strain rate hardening effect and
dynamic softening effect, the strain hardening effect
and strain rate hardening effect is obvious in the
process of simulation cold-beating of 1020 steel,
grains become more refined as strain and strain rate
increase.
(3) The change trend of the work hardening rate of 1020
steel is divided into two stages. The work hardening
rate decreases sharply and the strain hardening effect
Fig. 11 Relationship between work hardening rate and dislocation is weakened with the increase of strain rate during
density the first stage; the work hardening rate decreases
slowly and the strain hardening effect is strength-
of 1020 steel increased with increasing strain rate during ened with increasing strain rate in the second stage.
plastic deformation; lower strain rates resulted in more (4) The relationship between dislocation density and
obvious decreases in the work hardening rate and increases strain, and between work hardening rate and dislo-
in dislocation density. The increasing strain rate acceler- cation density were obtained, results indicate that
ated the dislocation movement, leading the dislocation dislocation density of 1020 steel increases with
accumulation to be completed in a short amount of time, increasing strain and strain rate, the work hardening
leading to greater dislocation of 1020 steel at the beginning rate decreases with increasing dislocation density.
of plastic deformation, especially at the strain rate of 4000
s-1. As the stress exceeded the lattice friction, the dislo-
cation near the lattice was rapidly released, and the dislo-
cation density was offset due to the interaction of
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Work Hardening Behavior of 1020 Steel During Cold-Beating Simulation

Yuanfei LING born in 1990, is currently a PhD candidate at Yuhui LIU born in 1989, is currently a master candidate at Henan
National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Gas Drainage in University of Science and Technology, China. His research interest is
Complex Coal Seam, Chongqing University, China. He received his advanced manufacturing technology.
master degree from Henan University of Science and Technology,
China, in 2016. His research interests include advanced manufactur- Yan LI born in 1960, is currently a professor and vice president of
ing technology and water jet. E-mail: [email protected]. Xi’an University of Technology, China. His research interests are
unconventional machining technology, deep hole processing and
Jinxue XUE born in 1965, is currently an associate professor at forming technology.
Henan University of Science and Technology, China. He received his
PhD degree from Tongji University, China, in 2011. His research
interest is precision machining of hard and brittle materials.

Jia LIU born in 1992, is currently a master candidate at Henan

University of Science and Technology, China. Her research interest is
ultrasonic vibration machining.

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