Metallurgical Effects on the Dynamic and Failure Properties of Shock Loaded ChromeX 9000 High Strength Steel

The effects of ??-?? phase transformation on the damage and dynamic tensile strength in pure iron and low carbon steels under uniaxial strain conditions are not well understood. Therefore, a series of in-situ time-resolved and soft recovery plate impact experiments were conducted to probe the metallurgical effects on the dynamic and failure properties of shock loaded ChromX® 9000 high strength steel. ChromX® 9000 is a low-carbon, chromium alloy steel, that combines high strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance, which is five times more than standard carbon steel. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) wereemployed to characterize the microstructural features of the recovered samples shock loaded above and below a stable Hugoniot stress state of ~13 GPa, the phase transformation stress for pure iron and steels. Information on substructure and texture evolution were derived from the shock recovered samples. Furthermore, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used to study the failure characteristics resulting from void nucleation, growth, and coalescence. In totality, the results derived from these experiments will advance the state-of-the-art pertaining to the metallurgical effects on the dynamic and failure properties of pure iron and steels.