Deformation and failure of a rolled homogeneous armour steel under dynamic mechanical loading in compression

A Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA) steel was tested at strain rates in excess of 10³ s^-1 in compression using direct impact Hopkinson Bar. The dynamic stress-strain curves and microstructural evolution in this material at high strain rates were obtained. They were found to be dependent on the extent of thermal softening occurring during deformation and the accompanying visco-plastic instabilities, which lead to localization of shear strain along …