Analysis of the complex stress state during early loading in cylindrical compression-shear specimens

In most engineering applications, materials are subjected to complex load cases rather than the simple uniaxial ones typically used for material characterization. To experimentally study the material behavior under a combination of compression and shear, an inclined compression specimen can be used. This specimen has been applied in various earlier experimental studies, typically to investigate shear localization under quasi-static or impact loading. In this contribution, we analyze the stress state in a compression-shear specimen in detail using an elastic-ideal plastic finite element simulation. The effects of specimen aspect ratio (height/diameter), inclination angle, and friction conditions between specimen and tool plates are investigated using the material parameters of different conventional steels as input. Shear stress distributions in characteristic shear directions on specific planes in the specimen that control the subsequent plastic deformation behavior are evaluated. Our results show that, even in the absence of friction, shear stresses are distributed heterogeneously in the inclined specimen, which differs from the stress distribution in a conventional compression specimen. Moreover, the highest shear and equivalent stresses always occur at the edges of the short diagonal plane of the specimen, independent of the investigated parameters. This study contributes to a more detailed understanding of the elasto-plastic mechanics in compression-shear specimens, and it specifically provides information for the analysis of the onset of early plastic deformation.