Dynamic and Quasi-Static Mechanical Response and Associated Microstructural Evolution of Damascus Steels

Abstract

This study examines the mechanical response and microstructural evolution of modern manufactured high carbon pattern welded Damascus steels. The characterisation consists of quasi-static and dynamic compression testing, optical microscopy, ultrasonic sound speed measurements, and Vickers hardness. The results from the quasi-static compression testing at a strain rate of 10^–3/s show that the yield strength of the materials is approximately 500 MPa, which is comparable to that of plain carbon steel (~450 MPa) and display similar strain hardening properties. The compression results also display a slightly higher Young’s Modulus for samples with layer orientation perpendicular to the uniaxial load than those with layer orientation of approximately 45° to the uniaxial load. Dynamic testing using a Split-Hopkinson Bar results showed a similar yield strength of ~ 1150 MPa for the samples with 45° layer orientation, whereas samples with perpendicular orientation showed a slight increase in the yield stress with increasing the strain rate.