The Tensile Electroplasticity of Low Carbon Steel with Low Amplitude Pulse Current

The significant improvement of the plasticity of a metal that undergoes deformation in the presence of electricity is called electroplasticity. Manufacturing processes such as drawing, and rolling are depending on heat to reduce the forces associated with fabrication. The high-temperature requirement is potentially leading to stress, warpage, and reduced tolerance control. The manufacturing method called Electrically Assisted Manufacturing is introduced as an effective solution for these obstacles. The electroplastic deformation of low carbon steel under the simultaneous combination of uniaxial tensile conditions and electrical pulses was investigated. A reduction of the yield stress of low carbon steel having 0.2 wt% of carbon content was observed due to the electroplasticity. This work focused on developing a pulsed current generator to achieve the required combination of current density and pulse width for electroplasticity effect in these steel samples, and analysis of yield stress reduction qualitatively.