Refinement of the technique of plotting the flow curves of a metal to predict its hardening in alternating cold plastic deformation

Abstract

The technique of plotting the flow curves of a metal, which describe the true strain as a function of the true principal strain intensity, is refined. The forms of analytical representation of these curves are substantiated. Using copper as an example, we show that the flow curves of a metal in a softened state can be used to predict its hardening in cold deformation. The alternating deformation of commercial-purity copper on a mangle is shown to increase its conventional yield strength substantially.