A Study of the Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Q460D Steel

The dynamic mechanical properties of Q460D steel were studied to facilitate an assessment of the impact resistance of building structures. In the present work, material performance tests of Q460D steel at different temperatures, strain rates, and stress states were conducted. Using a hybrid experimental–numerical approach, a modified Johnson–Cook (JC) constitutive relation, a modified Johnson–Cook (JC) fracture criterion, and a lode-dependent fracture criterion were calibrated. To validate the calibration, Taylor impact tests of Q460D steel rods onto rigid target plates were carried out in a one-stage light-gas gun system. Mushrooming, tensile splitting, and petalling failure modes were obtained as the impact velocity was increased from 191.6 to 422.1 m/s. A three-dimensional finite element model was built for the Taylor impact tests, and FE simulations were run using the material models calibrated. It was found that the FE simulations using the lode-dependent fracture criterion were reasonable in terms of the failure modes of the Taylor rods. In contrast, the fracture behavior of the Taylor rods was significantly underestimated using the lode-independent JC fracture criterion. Finally, the effect of anisotropy, strain rate sensitivity and yield plateau on the Taylor impact FE predictions were explored and discussed.