Influence of Microstructure on the Bauschinger Effect and the Shock Hardening in 1080 High-Carbon Steel

The importance of a microstructurally-controlled Bauschinger component to defect storage during the shock loading process has been shown to be correlated to both quasi-elastic release effects and reduced shock hardening in materials. In the current study shock recovery experiments have been conducted on a high-carbon 1080 steel as a function of three microstructural states; pearlitic, partially-spheriodized, and where the cementite has been fully spheriodized. The 1080 steel in the pearlitic condition is shown to exhibit a significant Bauschinger effect while the fully spheriodized microstructure is observed to display significantly higher shock hardening when shock prestrained to an equivalent 12.8 GPa. The shock hardening response of 1080 steel is discussed in terms of the micromechanisms controlling defect generation and storage during shock loading in materials and the importance of the Bauschinger effect on modeling shock hardening in some materials.