| Abstract Scope |
Rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) steels, widely used in vehicle armor for their exceptional strength, ballistic resistance, and ease of fabrication, have historically seen research focused on compositional and thermal modifications to optimize strength and toughness, often overlooking the detailed microstructural intricacies of the material. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of the RHA steel microstructure, a detailed microstructural characterization using XRD, EBSD, and TEM has been carried out to outline the hierarchical microstructure of this material. The complex microstructural details in RHA steel, where the length scales of interest can span from the nm to µm ranges, require specialized small-scale mechanical tools for testing and characterization. Utilizing high-throughput nanoindentation in conjunction with HR-EBSD, we have assessed local nanomechanical responses at various strain rates. Our findings reveal an orientation dependence in nanoindentation properties. Furthermore, block boundary misorientation, distance, and block size significantly influence nanomechanical properties beyond block orientation alone. |