A cyclic plasticity model for single crystals

The Armstrong–Frederick type kinematic hardening rule was invoked to capture the Bauschinger effect of the cyclic plastic deformation of a single crystal. The yield criterion and flow rule were built on individual slip systems. Material memory was introduced to describe strain range dependent cyclic hardening. The experimental results of copper single crystals were used to evaluate the cyclic plasticity model. It was found that the model was able to accurately describe the cyclic plastic deformation and properly reflect the dislocation substructure evolution. The well-known three distinctive regimes in the cyclic stress–strain curve of the copper single crystals oriented for single slip can be reproduced by using the model. The model can predict the enhanced hardening for crystals oriented for multislip, showing the model's ability to describe anisotropic cyclic plasticity. For a given loading history, the model was able to capture not only the saturated stress–strain response but also the detailed transient stress–strain evolution. The model was used to predict the cyclic plasticity under a high–low loading sequence. Both the stress–strain responses and the microstructural evolution can be appropriately described through the slip system activation.     

On the uniqueness of a rate-independent plasticity model for single crystals

This paper presents the uniqueness and existence conditions for a rate-independent plasticity model for single crystals under a general stress state. The model is based on multiple slips on three-dimensional slip systems. The uniqueness condition for the plastic slips in a single crystal with nonlinear hardening is derived using the implicit function theorem. The uniqueness condition is the non-singularity of a matrix defined by the Schmid tensors, the elasticity, and the hardening rates of the slip systems. When this matrix becomes singular, the limitations on the loading paths that can be accommodated by the active slip systems (i.e., the existence conditions) are also given explicitly. For the compatible loading paths, a particular solution is selected by requiring the solution vector to be orthogonal to the null space of the singular coefficient matrix. The paper also presents a fully implicit algorithm for the plasticity model. Numerical examples of an fcc copper single crystal under cyclic loadings (pure shear and uniaxial strain) are presented to demonstrate the main features of the algorithm.     

Finite element simulation of PSB macroband nucleation and propagation in single crystal nickel cycled at low plastic strain amplitudes

Substructure models for vein matrix and persistent slip band (PSB) structures are extracted from a uniaxial mixtures model that was developed to simulate cyclic loading experiments on nickel single crystals oriented for single slip. Reverse magnetostriction is included as well. These substructure models are implanted in a single crystal plasticity framework with fully anisotropic elasticity. The resulting constitutive models are incorporated in finite element models to simulate the process of PSB macroband formation and propagation. Perturbation elements (PEs), elements assigned with PSB properties, are used as the loci for PSB macroband nucleation. Transition of elements with vein matrix properties to elements with PSB properties is triggered at integration points by a shear stress criterion applied on slip systems. The resulting finite element models successfully demonstrate the process of PSB formation and propagation, and plastic strain amplitude partitioning between vein matrix and PSB macrobands. The effect of model boundary constraints, strain increment dependence, mesh sensitivity, PE distribution, specimen axis misorientation, and PSB volume fraction generated is examined.     

Strain rate sensitivity of flow stress at low temperatures in 304n stainless steel

Strain rate and temperature effects on the flow stress of 304N stainless steel were investigated using data obtained from torsion tests on thin-walled tubular specimens, at given strain rates of between 10⁻³ and 10⁻¹ with temperatures ranging from 83 to 296 K. Initially, the apparent strain rate sensitivity of the flow stress, obtained at test temperatures of 83, 153, 213, and 296 K, was examined. The strain dependence and the strain rate dependence of the mechanical threshold stress (the flow stress at O K) at strains less than 0.1 and at strain rates of 2.4 × 10⁻³ and 8.3 × 10² s⁻¹, is also discussed. It was concluded from the experimental results that the mechanical threshold stress depends not only on the strain but also on the strain rate.     

A modified model for simulating latent hardening during the plastic deformation of rate-dependent FCC polycrystals

A strain hardening model for the plastic deformation of rate-dependent FCC crystals is proposed based on experimental observations previously reported for single crystals. This model, which is an extension of that employed by et al. [1983], includes both the self-hardening and latent hardening of the slip systems. The differential hardening of the latent systems is assumed to arise from the interaction between glide dislocations and forests. With this hardening model and a rate-sensitive crystal plasticity theory, the deformation behavior of FCC polycrystals can be predicted from the deformation response of the constituent single crystals. As examples, the uniaxial tensile behaviour of pure aluminum and copper polycrystals is simulated using the extended model, and the results are compared with published experimental data. The effects of latent hardening on polycrystal deformation, especially on flow stress and the formation of tensile textures, are discussed.     

On the strain hardening and texture evolution in high manganese steels: Experiments and numerical investigation

We present a systematic investigation on the strain hardening and texture evolution in high manganese steels where twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) plays a significant role for the materials' plastic deformation. Motivated by the stress–strain behavior of typical TWIP steels with compositions of Fe, Mn, and C, we develop a mechanistic model to explain the strain-hardening in crystals where deformation twinning dominates the plastic deformation. The classical single crystal plasticity model accounting for both dislocation slip and deformation twinning are then employed to simulate the plastic deformation in polycrystalline TWIP steels. While only deformation twinning is activated for plasticity, the simulations with samples composed of voronoi grains cannot fully capture the texture evolution of the TWIP steel. By including both twinning deformation and dislocation slip, the model is able to capture both the stress–strain behaviors and the texture evolution in Fe–Mn–C TWIP steel in different boundary-value problems. Further analysis on the strain contributions by both mechanisms suggests that deformation twinning plays the dominant role at the initial stage of plasticity in TWIP steels, and dislocation slip becomes increasingly important at large strains.     

A dislocation density-based single crystal constitutive equation

Single crystal constitutive equations based on dislocation density (SCCE-D) were developed from Orowan’s strengthening equation and simple geometric relationships of the operating slip systems. The flow resistance on a slip plane was computed using the Burger’s vector, line direction, and density of the dislocations on all other slip planes, with no adjustable parameters. That is, the latent/self-hardening matrix was determined by the crystallography of the slip systems alone. The multiplication of dislocations on each slip system incorporated standard 3-parameter dislocation density evolution equations applied to each slip system independently; this is the only phenomenological aspect of the SCCE-D model. In contrast, the most widely used single crystal constitutive equations for texture analysis (SCCE-T) feature 4 or more adjustable parameters that are usually back-fit from a polycrystal flow curve. In order to compare the accuracy of the two approaches to reproduce single crystal behavior, tensile tests of single crystals oriented for single slip were simulated using crystal plasticity finite element modeling. Best-fit parameters (3 for SCCE-D, 4 for SCCE-T) were determined using either multiple or single slip stress–strain curves for copper and iron from the literature. Both approaches reproduced the data used for fitting accurately. Tensile tests of copper and iron single crystals oriented to favor the remaining combinations of slip systems were then simulated using each model (i.e. multiple slip cases for equations fit to single slip, and vice versa). In spite of fewer fit parameters, the SCCE-D predicted the flow stresses with a standard deviation of 14 MPa, less than one half that for the SCCE-T conventional equations: 31 MPa. Polycrystalline texture simulations were conducted to compare predictions of the two models. The predicted polycrystal flow curves differed considerably, but the differences in texture evolution were insensitive to the type of constitutive equations. The SCCE-D method provides an improved representation of single-crystal plastic response with fewer adjustable parameters, better accuracy, and better predictivity than the constitutive equations most widely used for texture analysis (SCCE-T).     

An analysis of exhaustion hardening in micron-scale plasticity

The rate-dependent behavior of micron-scale model planar crystals is investigated using the framework of mechanism-based discrete dislocation plasticity. Long-range interactions between dislocations are accounted for through elasticity. Mechanism-based constitutive rules are used to represent the short-range interactions between dislocations, including dislocation multiplication and dislocation escape at free surfaces. Emphasis is laid on circumstances where the deformed samples are not statistically homogeneous. The calculations show that dimensional constraints selectively set the operating dislocation mechanisms, thus giving rise to the phenomenon of exhaustion hardening whereby the applied strain rate is predominantly accommodated by elastic deformation. When conditions are met for this type of hardening to take place, the calculations reproduce some interesting qualitative features of plastic deformation in microcrystals, such as flow intermittency over coarse time-scales and large values of the flow stress with no significant accumulation of dislocation density. In addition, the applied strain rate is varied down to 0.1 s⁻¹ and is found to affect the rate of exhaustion hardening.     

Active slip-band separation and the energetics of slip in single crystals

This research supports recent efforts to provide an energetic approach to the prediction of stress–strain relations for single crystals undergoing single slip and to give precise formulations of experimentally observed connections between hardening of single crystals and separation of active slip-bands. Non–classical, structured deformations in the form of two-level shears permit the formulation of new measures of the active slip-band separation and of the number of lattice cells traversed during slip. A formula is obtained for the Helmholtz free energy per unit volume as a function of the shear without slip, the shear due to slip, and the relative separation of active slip-bands in a single crystal. This formula is the basis for a model, under preparation by the authors, of hardening of single crystals in single slip that is consistent with the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect and the existence of a critical resolved shear stress.     

Cylindrical void in a rigid-ideally plastic single crystal II: Experiments and simulations

Experimental results and finite element simulations of plastic deformation around a cylindrical void in single crystals are presented to compare with the analytical solutions in a companion paper: Cylindrical void in a rigid-ideally plastic single crystal I: Anisotropic slip line theory solution for face-centered cubic crystals [Kysar, J.W., Gan, Y.X., Mendez-Arzuza, G., 2005. Cylindrical void in a rigid-ideally plastic single crystal I: Anisotropic slip line theory solution for face-centered cubic crystals, International Journal of Plasticity, 21, 1481–1520]. In the first part of the present paper, the theoretical predictions of the stress and deformation field around a cylindrical void in face-centered cubic (FCC) single crystals are briefly reviewed. Secondly, electron backscatter diffraction results are presented to show the lattice rotation discontinuities at boundaries between regions of single slip around the void as predicted in the companion paper. In the third part of the paper, the finite element method has been employed to simulate the anisotropic plastic deformation behavior of FCC single crystals which contain cylindrical voids under plane strain condition. The results of the simulation are in good agreement with the prediction by the anisotropic slip line theory.     

On plastic anisotropy of constitutive model for rate-dependent single crystal

An algorithm for single crystals was developed and implemented to simulate plastic anisotropy using a rate-dependent slip model. The proposed procedure was a slightly modified form of single crystal constitutive model of Sarma and Zacharia. Modified Euler method, together with Newton-Raphson method was used to integrate this equation which was stable and efficient. The model together with the developed algorithm was used to study three problems. First, plastic anisotropy was examined by simulating the crystal deformation in tension and plane strain compression, respectively. Secondly, the orientation effect of some material parameters in the model and applied strain rate on plastic anisotropy for single crystal also is investigated. Thirdly, the influence of loading direction on the active slip system was discussed.     

Finite versus small strain discrete dislocation analysis of cantilever bending of single crystals

Plastic size effects in single crystals are investi-gated by using finite strain and small strain discrete dislo-cation plasticity to analyse the response of cantilever beam specimens. Crystals with both one and two active slip sys-tems are analysed, as well as specimens with different beam aspect ratios. Over the range of specimen sizes analysed here, the bending stress versus applied tip displacement response has a strong hardening plastic component. This hardening rate increases with decreasing specimen size. The hardening rates are slightly lower when the finite strain discrete disloca-tion plasticity (DDP) formulation is employed as curving of the slip planes is accounted for in the finite strain formulation. This relaxes the back-stresses in the dislocation pile-ups and thereby reduces the hardening rate. Our calculations show that in line with the pure bending case, the bending stress in cantilever bending displays a plastic size dependence. How-ever, unlike pure bending, the bending flow strength of the larger aspect ratio cantilever beams is appreciably smaller. This is attributed to the fact that for the same applied bend-ing stress, longer beams have lower shear forces acting upon them and this results in a lower density of statistically stored dislocations.     

An experimental investigation on cyclic plastic deformation and substructures of polycrystalline copper

Cyclic deformation under proportional and nonproportional loading of a textured copper was experimentally studied, and the results were compared with those of texture-free copper with the same grain size. The texture had a great influence on the equivalent cyclic stress–strain (CSS) curves under proportional loading but insignificant influence on the CSS curves under nonproportional loading. By comparing the slip patterns on the specimen surface and dislocation substructures under proportional and nonproportional loading, the mechanism of nonproportional hardening was discussed. The slip multiplicity inherited from originally multiple-slip oriented grains plays a minor role. Nonproportional hardening is the result of enhanced activated slip systems and more uniform activation of slip systems due to the rotation of maximum shear stress under nonproportional loading. At high strain amplitudes, cells were the primary substructures for both proportional and nonproportional loading but the diameters of the cells under nonproportional loading were smaller for similar strain magnitude. A linear relationship existed between the saturation equivalent stress magnitude and the reciprocal of the diameter of the dislocation cells. Such a relationship was independent of the loading modes and texture. The saturation stress magnitude was related to the bowing stress of screw dislocations in the interior area of dislocation cells. The mechanical response was practically recoverable either when the loading magnitude was changed from a higher value to a lower value or when the loading was changed from a nonproportional loading path to a proportional loading path. However, the dislocation substructures cannot be completely recovered.     

A crystallographic model for the orientation dependence of low cyclic fatigue property of a nickel-base single crystal superalloy

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Bubble interaction in low-viscosity liquids

An experimental study investigated how freely rising ellipsoidal bubbles approach each other, make contact and coalesce or breakup. Pulsed planar swarms of 10–20 bubbles with Eötvös numbers from 6.0 to 27.5 were released simultaneously in aqueous solutions of 0–48 wt% sugar with Morton numbers from 3.2 × 10⁻¹¹ to 3.7 × 10⁻⁶. Bubble interaction was recorded by a video camera following the rising bubbles. Essentially, all coalescence and breakup events occurred after, not during, wake-induced collisions by a complex process related to the bubble vortex shedding cycle. This same process was also found in multi-bubble clusters and may account for excess turbulent kinetic energy generation in bubbly flow.     

Studies of scale dependent crystal viscoplasticity models

A scale dependent crystal viscoplasticity model with a second strain gradient effect is introduced, as a simple extension of the conventional crystal plasticity theory. We confine attention to a single crystal undergoing slip on a single slip system under small strain conditions. Connections between this model and other existing theories are investigated in some detail. Furthermore, some basic predictions of the model, due to the second gradients and the material viscosity, are illustrated, using a constrained simple shear problem for a thin strip bounded by two rigid walls. The effect of viscosity on evolution of the boundary layer is examined, as well as the behavior of the thin strip undergoing reverse/cyclic shear loading, and the ability to predict plastic flow localization.     

Dislocation-based micropolar single crystal plasticity: Comparison of multi- and single criterion theories

Two new formulations of micropolar single crystal plasticity are presented within a geometrically linear setting. The construction of yield criteria and flow rules for generalized continuum theories with higher-order stresses can be done in one of two ways: (i) a single criterion can be introduced in terms of a combined equivalent stress and inelastic rate or (ii) or individual criteria can be specified for each conjugate stress/inelastic kinematic rate pair, a so-called multi-criterion theory. Both single and multi-criterion theories are developed and discussed within the context of dislocation-based constitutive models. Parallels and distinctions are made between the proposed theories and some of the alternative generalized crystal plasticity models that can be found in the literature. Parametric numerical simulations of a constrained thin film subjected to simple shear are conducted via finite element analysis using a simplified 2-D version of the fully 3-D theory to highlight the influence of specific model components on the resulting deformation under both loading and unloading conditions. The deformation behavior is quantified in terms of the average stress-strain response and the local shear strain and geometrically necessary dislocation density distributions. It is demonstrated that micropolar single crystal plasticity can qualitatively capture the same range of behaviors as slip gradient-based models, while offering a simpler numerical implementation and without introducing plastic slip rates as generalized traction-conjugate velocities subject to an additional microforce balance.     

Cyclic stress-strain behaviour of alloy AA6060 T4, part II: Biaxial experiments and modelling

Laboratory tests have been conducted to investigate the inelastic behaviour of aluminium alloy AA6060 T4 subjected to non-proportional cyclic loading. The results of four tests with variable strain path shapes and strain amplitudes are reported in this paper. The tests were carried out by applying combined axial force and torque to thin-walled tubular specimens, using effective strain amplitudes in the range 0.4–0.8%. Major emphasis has been put on the two important material properties: plastic anisotropy and influence of strain range and strain path shapes on cyclic hardening. A constitutive model for cyclic plasticity is used to predict the stress response of the alloy for the non-proportional strain paths applied in the experiments. The model adopts a quadratic yield function and multi-component non-linear isotropic and kinematic hardening rules to describe plastic anisotropy, the shape of the hysteresis loops and the evolution of cyclic hardening. Good agreement is obtained between the physical and correlated stress response of the alloy.     

An effective computational algorithm for rate-independent crystal plasticity based on a single crystal yield surface with an application to tube hydroforming

Up to now, several computational methods have been proposed for crystal plasticity models. The main objective of these computational methods has been to overcome the problem with the non-uniqueness of active slip systems during the plastic deformation of a single crystal. Crystal plasticity models based on a single crystal yield function have been proposed as alternative algorithms to overcome this problem. But the problem with these models is that they use a highly non-linear yield function for the crystal, which makes them computationally expensive. In this paper, a computational method is proposed that would modify a single crystal yield function in order to make it computationally efficient. Also to better capture experimental data, a new parameter is introduced into the single crystal yield function to make it more flexible. For verification, this crystal plasticity model was directly applied for the simulation of hydroforming of an extruded aluminum tube under complex strain paths. It was found that the current model is considerably faster than the previous crystal plasticity model based on a power-law type single crystal yield surface. Due to its computational efficiency, the current crystal plasticity model can also be used to calculate the anisotropy coefficients of phenomenological yield functions.     

Multiscale modeling of the plasticity in an aluminum single crystal

This paper describes a numerical, hierarchical multiscale modeling methodology involving two distinct bridges over three different length scales that predicts the work hardening of face centered cubic crystals in the absence of physical experiments. This methodology builds a clear bridging approach connecting nano-, micro- and meso-scales. In this methodology, molecular dynamics simulations (nanoscale) are performed to generate mobilities for dislocations. A discrete dislocations numerical tool (microscale) then uses the mobility data obtained from the molecular dynamics simulations to determine the work hardening. The second bridge occurs as the material parameters in a slip system hardening law employed in crystal plasticity models (mesoscale) are determined by the dislocation dynamics simulation results. The material parameters are computed using a correlation procedure based on both the functional form of the hardening law and the internal elastic stress/plastic shear strain fields computed from discrete dislocations. This multiscale bridging methodology was validated by using a crystal plasticity model to predict the mechanical response of an aluminum single crystal deformed under uniaxial compressive loading along the [4 2 1] direction. The computed strain-stress response agrees well with the experimental data.