Obtaining reliable dynamic mechanical properties through experiments is essential for developing and validating constitutive models in material selection and structural design. This study introduces a dynamic tensile method using a modified M-type specimen loaded by a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). A closed M-type specimen was thus employed. Finite element simulations and experiments were used to validate the design of the M-type specimen, which was fabricated using 17-4PH (precipitation hardening) stainless steel powder with a 3D (three-dimensional) selected laser melting (SLM) printer. After verifying force balance and uniform deformation in the tensile region, tensile tests were conducted across strain rates from quasi-static to a strain rate of 5900 s-1. The results demonstrated that this method effectively assessed the dynamic tensile behaviors of stainless steel at high strain rates, and achieved both ultra-high strain rates and large plastic deformation.
Keywords: 3D-printed stainless steel; M-type specimen; dynamic tensile; split Hopkinson pressure bar; strain rate effect.