Increments of Plastic Strain and Hardness Hv10 of Automotive Steel Sheets

M. Mihaliková, M. Német, Faculty of Metallurgy, Technical University of Košice, Slovakia The present paper deals with measurements of the increments of strain and hardness HV10 on automotive steel sheets. The car body manufacture trends are focused, in particular, on high energy absorption capability. In the manufacture of a car body, there are requirements for high plasticity and homogeneity of the pressed sheets. The measurements were made on DP steel, micro-alloyed steel, and IF steel. The increments of strain were measured around V notches. The specimens were scanned using a video-extensometer technique with a CCD camera. The result was strain increment maps, constructed using the Matlab software. The hardness HV10 was measured on the failed specimens around the notches. 3D hardness distribution maps were made from the measured values of HV10.