Stress-relaxation viewpoint to study the room-temperature cyclic deformation behavior of a low-density steel

A novel method is offered with the task of unveiling the underlying micro-mechanisms of cyclic deformation. This method by merging of dwell-fatigue and stress relaxation concept provides the capability of assessment of the dislocation response to cyclic deformation and subsequently the differences between tensile and compressive half-cycles behavior. Interestingly, the apparent activation volume and mobile dislocation density have been successfully calculated in the course of cyclic loading. Noteworthily, room-temperature dynamic strain aging is firmly proved through these novel findings in a cyclically-loaded lightweight steel. This promises to be a breakthrough in deep understanding the behavior of materials under cyclic loading.