Hi,

I'm doing some penetration tests on a part by using a vise to compress it. This is the vise:

Notice the small rectangular protrusions on this part that are meant to locally push the material and penetrate it.

This is the part to be penetrated:;

I've modeled some split lines and applied a total 3000 N force.

When I'm assigning to this plate a steel material that didn't undergo any heat treatment the results correlate with the practical test (1.6 mm penetration).

I'm performing linear static analysis.

When I'm assigning to this plate a steel that had a quenching treatment (resulting in 50-54 HRC Rockwell hardness), results of the pratical test are much different (0,02 mm).

Now my question is: what properties of the material change after quenching ?

I made some research in metallurgy forums and it looks like quenching doesn't affect elasticity modulus but only tensile and ultimate strength.

How can I reflect the "improved" material properties of the material with FEA and get close to my practical test ?

Thanks.

Alex