No Access

Rapid recovery of work hardening in stainless steel via high-density pulsed electric current: Impact of athermal effect

Department of Micro-Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

Magnesium Research Center, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan

Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan

Search for more papers by this author

Chang Liu

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3475-755X

Department of Micro-Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

Search for more papers by this author

Yi Cui

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8731-9695

Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

Search for more papers by this author

Xinming Yan

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6520-9426

Department of Micro-Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

Search for more papers by this author

Yasuhiro Kimura

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7202-451X

Department of Micro-Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan

Search for more papers by this author

Yasuyuki Morita

Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan

Search for more papers by this author

Yuhki Toku

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7295-0636

Department of Micro-Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

E-mail Address: toku@nagoya-u.jp

Corresponding author.

Search for more papers by this author

, and

Yang Ju

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7686-963X

Department of Micro-Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310030, China

E-mail Address: yang.ju@zju.edu.cn

Corresponding author.

Search for more papers by this author

https://doi.org/10.1142/S3082805825500050Cited by:0 (Source: Crossref)

Abstract

Efficient and rapid annealing treatments are critical for the sustainable forming and manufacturing of metallic materials, as well as for energy conservation and emission reduction in the manufacturing industry. We investigate the impact of high-density pulsed electric current (HDPEC) treatment on the recovery of work hardening in pre-strained SUS316 stainless steel and clarify the role of the athermal effect. The pre-strained samples exhibited significant work hardening, characterised by increased strength and hardness. After HDPEC treatment, the work hardening was fully mitigated, primarily due to the fast dislocation annihilation and grain refinement induced by the HDPEC treatment. Additionally, equivalent and rapid heating samples were performed to distinguish the contributions of thermal and athermal effects to the recovery of work hardening. The results showed that higher current densities were more effective in alleviating work hardening, and under high current density conditions, the effect of athermal was greater than the thermal-related effect.

Keywords: