A stochastic model for the temporal aspects of flow intermittency in micropillar compression

Systematic experimental investigations have demonstrated that the plastic deformation of micropillar proceeds through a sequence of intermittent bursts, the sizes of which follow power-law statistics. In this study, a stochastic model based on the power-law distribution of burst size is formulated in the framework of crystal plasticity in order to investigate the temporal aspects of flow intermittency in micropillar compression. A Monte Carlo simulation scheme is developed to determine the burst size when a burst activity is captured. This burst size is considered as the displacement boundary condition of burst deformation. Three-dimensional finite element analysis of the model is performed and its predictions are validated by comparison with results from both micro-compression experiments and simulation tests of bulk crystals using the classic crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM). The model provides a reasonable prediction of stress–strain responses both at the macroscopic and microscopic scales. Finally, the capability of this model is shown with applications to the intermittent plastic deformation in micropillar compressions, in particular for their burst time durations and burst velocities. The results from such stochastic finite element analysis are shown to be consistent with earlier experimental findings and results of mean-field theory.