Experimental and computational approach to evaluate the effect of leveling on the change of tensile properites of heavy steel plates

Advancing requirements and decreasing tolerances for the mechanical properties of heavy steel plates, especially the yield strength and the tensile strength, necessitate sound knowledge of the influence of all consecutive process steps. In this work the focus is taken on the leveling process. The present paper represents a combined methodology to characterize the tensile properties with experimental as well as numerical simulation techniques. An four-point bending test rig has been designed which enables the cyclic testing of plate like samples up to 40 mm thickness applying typical strain histories of the leveling operation. Small-scale tensile specimens with rectangular cross section are taken across the entire plate thickness to characterize the change of the local tensile behavior from the un-deformed to the deformed state. The bending experiments are reproduced by finite element simulations. The implemented material model has been calibrated on the basis of uniaxial cyclic tension/compression tests. With this technique it is possible to evaluate a material model which can then be used for modeling the entire leveling process as well as to predict the local strength distribution across the thickness of the final plate.