High strain rate torsion and Bauschinger tests on Ti6Al4V

An accurate isotropic and kinematic hardening model and description of the strain rate dependent material behaviour is necessary for simulation of fast forming processes. Consequently, the material model parameter identification requires experiments where large strains, high strain rates and strain path changes can be attained. Usually, quasi-static tension-compression Bauschinger tests are used to assess the materials kinematic hardening. Hereby it's important to have the same specimen geometry and boundary conditions in the forward and reverse loading step which is not easily achieved in high strain rate testing techniques. In this work, high strain rate split Hopkinson bar torsion experiments on Ti6Al4V are carried out to study the constitutive material behaviour at large plastic strain and strain rate. In torsion experiments, due to the absence of cross sectional area reduction, higher strains than in tensile tests can be obtained. In addition, a modified torsional split Hopkinson bar setup is developed to perform dynamic Bauschinger tests. A shear reversed-shear load is applied instead of the classical tension-compression load cycle. The test results are analysed to find out if the technique can be used for characterisation of the kinematic material behaviour. Digital image correlation and finite element simulations are used to improve the interpretation of the experimental results.