Characterizing the mechanical deformation response of AHSS steels: A comparative study of cyclic plasticity models under monotonic and reversal loading

This study evaluates the performance of a user-defined combined hardening modeling method for advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) under monotonic and reversal loading conditions. The plastic behavior of TWIP980 and TRIP980 AHSS sheet metals is investigated using a cyclic plasticity modeling approach. The model incorporates an isotropic von Mises yield criterion and a single-term Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening rule. Monotonic and reversal loading stress-strain curves are predicted and compared with experimental results. The model accurately captured the Bauschinger effect for both materials, but it needs help to effectively model the permanent softening behavior observed in TWIP980 steel. Overall, the proposed modeling method agrees well with experimental results for monotonic loading and accurately represents the Bauschinger effect and transient behavior during reversal loading. However, better improvements are needed to capture the permanent softening behavior of TWIP980 steel.