Experimental study of electrical resistivity and flow stress of stainless steel 316L in electroplastic deformation

Both the Joule heat and the electric current affect the flow stress of metals, when electric current flows through metals. Except the thermal effect of the Joule heat induced by the electric current, the influence of the electric current on the flow stress of metals is called the electroplastic effect. In this paper, an experimental setup was proposed to study the in situ electrical resistivity and the flow stress of SS316L sheet simultaneously in electroplastic tensile tests. The experiments were performed at different electric current densities and temperatures. In the experiments, the evolution of the electrical resistivity and the flow stress of the stainless steel 316L specimen in the tensile process were studied. The increase in the electrical resistivity of the tensile specimen due to the deformation was observed. Moreover, the reductions in the flow stress of the SS316L specimen due to the electric current density and the temperature were investigated. Finally, the results were fitted to an empirical model, and the difference was found between the thermal effect and the electroplastic effect on SS316L in the electroplastic tensile tests. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.