Unveiling the mechanisms behind texture formation and its impact on the torsional performance of cold-drawn pearlitic steel wires

High carbon pearlitic steel wires are widely used in the industry, such as for producing tyre cords and steel cables due to its excellent mechanical properties. Cold drawing is a crucial step in steel wire production. Due to the loading state during the cold drawing process, pearlitic wires tend to exhibit a <110> fiber texture. The non-uniform texture distribution on the cross-section of steel wires has been observed experimentally. The mechanisms yielding this non-uniformly distributed texture are carefully investigated in this study using a multi-scale computational approach. Firstly, a macroscale finite element model is established to simulate the deformation behaviour of pearlitic steel wires during cold drawing, with the aim of thoroughly investigating the inhomogeneous elastic-plastic deformation behaviours. Secondly, the macro mechanical responses are incorporated into the mesoscale representative volume element model as boundary conditions to comprehensively study the effect of inhomogeneous deformation characteristics on texture formation. The results present a significant advancement by revealing that the non-uniform texture distribution in a steel wire can primarily be attributed to the multiaxial stress state on the cross-section. Notably, at the center of the steel wire, the maximum principal stress aligns with the drawing axis, resulting in a dominant <110> fiber texture. Conversely, at the subsurface, the maximum principal stress progressively shifts towards the circumferential direction, yielding an evolving texture characterized by a {110}<110> circumferential texture. Furthermore, the research uncovers a crucial finding that it is the {110}<110> circumferential texture that significantly weakens the torsion ability of the wires. This is due to the limited activation of slip systems, marking a key advancement in understanding the mechanical properties of steel wires.