Investigations into Effect of Specimen Diameter and Die Curvature on Small Punch Testing of Mod 9Cr–1Mo Steel

Abstract

In recent years, the small punch (SP) test technique has become an attractive method for evaluating mechanical properties of materials in situations where only a small amount of material is available. The load–displacement curve (LDC) obtained from SP testing is a strong function of specimen and test fixture dimensions. The effects of specimen thickness, receiving die diameter and punch radius have been well reported. However, the effect of specimen diameter and the curvature of the receiving die on SP test results have not been reported so far. These two aspects of the SP test have been studied through finite element analysis and SP testing experiments on modified 9Cr–1Mo steel and presented in this paper.