Residual strain evolution in steel samples: Tension versus torsion

Torsion provides a unique opportunity to probe mechanical behavior of materials subjected to pure state of shear stress. In this research, identical steel alloy (12L14) hollow cylinder samples are subjected to predetermined amounts of plastic axial and shear strain such that their octahedral shear strain (an invariant) are identical for comparison. Measurements were made at the residual stress measuring facility at the High Flux Isotope Reactor in Oak Ridge (NRSF2), using a small gauge area in the direction of strain gradients (0.5 mm× 0.5 mm) through the hollow cylinder wall thickness. These orthogonal strains are obtained for BCC Fe for three hkl's. Three normal strains in the hoop, radial, and axial directions are obtained as a function of centroid position of the gauge volume through the 2 mm wall thickness. Significant differences in measured residual strains are noted between the torsion and the tension samples. The largest differences are found for the Fe (200) planes while the smallest differences are observed for the Fe (211) planes. This research demonstrates the need for a systematic study of residual strain as a function of applied stress path moving beyond tensile testing for solving real world problems.