Determination of the Uniaxial Stress–Strain Relations of Ductile Materials by Small Disk Specimens

In this work, the small lateral-compression testing based on energy equivalent (SLT-EE) method is put forward to determine the stress–strain curves of materials utilizing small disk specimens. Numerical simulations of small lateral-compression testing with imaginary materials are conducted to examine the validity of the SLT-EE method. The results demonstrate that the stress–strain curves determined by the SLT-EE method coincide with the curves input by finite element analysis. In order to predict the stress–strain curves of materials with different dimensions, a modified SLT-EE method is successfully proposed by introducing a correction factor f. Finally, the small disk compression experiments of Q345B, 304, 7075 and 6061 are performed. The stress–strain curves of the four materials predicted by the SLT-EE method show agreement with the tension results. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of in-service hollow components are also determined utilizing the same method successfully.