The dynamic behavior of automotive steel sheets is dependent on the material
strain rates. Therefore, the dynamic material properties of steel sheets are
indispensable for the accurate crashworthiness analysis of auto-bodies. This
paper evaluates the dynamic tensile characteristics of automotive steel sheets;
Mild Steel, HS440MPa, HS590MPa and HS980MPa along the rolling direction and
transverse direction. Dynamic tensile tests were carried out at the strain rate of
0.1/s to 200/s using a high speed tensile test machine(INSTRON VHS 65/85-25).
Static tensile tests were carried out at the strain rate of 0.003/s using the static
tensile test machine(ZWICK Z250). The tensile tests acquired stress-strain
relations and strain rate sensitivities of each material. The test results showed
that the flow stresses increased as the strain rates increased and the effect of
strain rate hardening decreased as the tensile strengths of materials increased.