The Importance of Dislocations in the Work Hardening of Low-Carbon Steel during Cold Plastic Deformation

It is well known that the work hardening process of low-carbon steels is highly dependent on the movement and accumulation of dislocations in the crystal grains, which affect the stress and strain magnitudes and their distribution. The aim of this paper is to explain the importance of dislocation movement and density on the temperature, i.e. stress and strain changes during cold plastic deformation of low-carbon steels. Therefore, tests were carried out in this paper using the methods of static tensile testing, thermography, digital image correlation (DIC) and microstructural analysis. The microstructure analysis was carried out using a light and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The transmission electron microscope analysis was performed in two different modes, the TEM and scanning TEM (STEM). The results of static tensile testing, thermography and digital image correlation (DIC) are related to the microstructural changes that occur during the work hardening process of low-carbon steel. At the moment of maximum work hardening (immediately before fracture), significant grain elongation and high dislocation density of low-carbon steel were observed.