Resetting scheme for plastic strain range evaluation in cyclic plasticity: Experimental verification

It has been proposed that a plastic strain surface is reset to a point and re-evolves every cycle to correctly evaluate the plastic strain range under cyclic loading (Ohno et al., 2018b). This resetting scheme has the advantage of providing a definite value for the evolution parameter irrespective of the amounts of cyclic hardening, pre-straining, and ratcheting. In the present study, the resetting scheme was experimentally verified by performing the following three types of uniaxial cyclic tests of 316 stainless steel at 600 °C: constant strain range, gradual decrease, and step decrease tests. The gradual decrease tests, a new type of cyclic tests, had gradual strain range reduction with increasing number of cycles in the absence and presence of ratcheting such as found at notch roots. Thus, the effect of the strain range history on cyclic hardening was observed to be weaker than that due to stepwise decreasing the strain range. Using a constitutive model with the resetting scheme enabled good simulation of the cyclic hardening behavior in the gradual decrease tests. Cyclic softening after stepwise decreasing the strain range was also simulated well by extending the evolution equation of cyclic hardening. •The resetting scheme proposed to evaluate the plastic strain range was experimentally investigated.•Gradual decrease tests of 316 SS were newly performed in addition to constant strain range and step decrease tests.•The gradual decrease tests had strain range reduction with increasing number of cycles such as found at notch roots.•Cyclic hardening behavior in the gradual decrease tests was well simulated using the resetting scheme.•Cyclic softening in the step decrease tests was also simulated well using an extended cyclic hardening equation.