Strain gradient plasticity analysis of transformation induced plasticity in multiphase steels

“To what extent do plastic strain gradients affect the strengthening resulting from the transformation of small metastable inclusions into hard inclusions within a plastically deforming matrix?” is the central question addressed here. Though general in the approach, the focus is on the behavior of TRIP-assisted multiphase steels. A two-dimensional embedded cell model of a simplified microstructure composed of a single metastable austenitic inclusion surrounded by a soft ferritic matrix is considered. The cell is inserted in a large homogenized medium. The transformation of a fraction of the austenite into a hard martensite plate is simulated, accounting for a transformation strain, and leading to complex elastic and plastic accommodation. The size of a transforming plate in real multiphase steels is typically between 0.1 and 2 μm, a range of size in which plastic strain gradient effects are expected to play a major role. The single parameter version of the Fleck–Hutchinson strain gradient plasticity theory is used to describe the plasticity in the austenite, ferrite and martensite phases. The higher order boundary conditions imposed on the plastic flow have a large impact on the predicted strengthening. Using realistic values of the intrinsic length parameter setting the scale at which the gradients effects have an influence leads to a noticeable increase of the strengthening on top of the increase due to the transformation of a volume fraction of the retained austenite. The geometrical parameters such as the volume fraction of retained austenite and of the transforming zone also bring significant strengthening. Strain gradient effects also significantly affect the stress state inside the martensite plate during and after transformation with a potential impact on the damage resistance of these steels.     

Suppressed plastic deformation at blunt crack-tips due to strain gradient effects

Large deformation gradients occur near a crack-tip and strain gradient dependent crack-tip deformation and stress fields are expected. Nevertheless, for material length scales much smaller than the scale of the deformation gradients, a conventional elastic–plastic solution is obtained. On the other hand, for significant large material length scales, a conventional elastic solution is obtained. This transition in behaviour is investigated based on a finite strain version of the Fleck–Hutchinson strain gradient plasticity model from 2001. The predictions show that for a wide range of material parameters, the transition from the conventional elastic–plastic to the elastic solution occurs for length scales ranging from 0.001 times the size of the plastic zone to a length scale of the same order of magnitude as the plastic zone.     

Bounds and estimates for the effect of strain gradients upon the effective plastic properties of an isotropic two-phase composite

Predictions are made for the size effect on strength of a random, isotropic two-phase composite. Each phase is treated as an isotropic, elastic-plastic solid, with a response described by a modified deformation theory version of the Fleck-Hutchinson strain gradient plasticity formulation (Fleck and Hutchinson, J. Mech. Phys. Solids 49 (2001) 2245). The essential feature of the new theory is that the plastic strain tensor is treated as a primary unknown on the same footing as the displacement. Minimum principles for the energy and for the complementary energy are stated for a composite, and these lead directly to elementary bounds analogous to those of Reuss and Voigt. For the case of a linear hardening solid, Hashin-Shtrikman bounds and self-consistent estimates are derived. A non-linear variational principle is constructed by generalising that of Ponte Castañeda (J. Mech. Phys. Solids 40 (1992) 1757). The minimum principle is used to derive an upper bound, a lower estimate and a self-consistent estimate for the overall plastic response of a statistically homogeneous and isotropic strain gradient composite. Sample numerical calculations are performed to explore the dependence of the macroscopic uniaxial response upon the size scale of the microstructure, and upon the relative volume fraction of the two phases.     

A viscoplastic strain gradient analysis of materials with voids or inclusions

A finite strain viscoplastic nonlocal plasticity model is formulated and implemented numerically within a finite element framework. The model is a viscoplastic generalisation of the finite strain generalisation by Niordson and Redanz (2004) [Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 52, 2431–2454] of the strain gradient plasticity theory proposed by Fleck and Hutchinson (2001) [Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 49, 2245–2271]. The formulation is based on a viscoplastic potential that enables the formulation of the model so that it reduces to the strain gradient plasticity theory in the absence of viscous effects. The numerical implementation uses increments of the effective plastic strain rate as degrees of freedom in addition to increments of displacement. To illustrate predictions of the model, results are presented for materials containing either voids or rigid inclusions. It is shown how the model predicts increased overall yield strength, as compared to conventional predictions, when voids or inclusions are in the micron range. Furthermore, it is illustrated how the higher order boundary conditions at the interface between inclusions and matrix material are important to the overall yield strength as well as the material hardening.     

Generalizing J 2 flow theory: Fundamental issues in strain gradient plasticity

It has not been a simple matter to obtain a sound extension of the classical J₂ flow theory of plasticity that in- corporates a dependence on plastic strain gradients and that is capable of capturing size-dependent behaviour of metals at the micron scale. Two classes of basic extensions of clas- sical J₂ theory have been proposed: one with increments in higher order stresses related to increments of strain gradi- ents and the other characterized by the higher order stresses themselves expressed in terms of increments of strain gra- dients. The theories proposed by Muhlhaus and Aifantis in 1991 and Fleck and Hutchinson in 2001 are in the first class, and, as formulated, these do not always satisfy ther- modynamic requirements on plastic dissipation. On the other hand, theories of the second class proposed by Gudmundson in 2004 and Gurtin and Anand in 2009 have the physical deficiency that the higher order stress quantities can change discontinuously for bodies subject to arbitrarily small load changes. The present paper lays out this background to the quest for a sound phenomenological extension of the rate- independent J₂ flow theory of plasticity to include a de- pendence on gradients of plastic strain. A modification of the Fleck-Hutchinson formulation that ensures its thermo- dynamic integrity is presented and contrasted with a compa- rable formulation of the second class where in the higher or- der stresses are expressed in terms of the plastic strain rate. Both versions are constructed to reduce to the classical J₂ flow theory of plasticity when the gradients can be neglected and to coincide with the simpler and more readily formulated J₂ deformation theory of gradient plasticity for deformation histories characterized by proportional straining.     

Size-effects in plane strain sheet-necking

A finite strain generalization of the strain gradient plasticity theory by Fleck and Hutchinson (J. Mech. Phys. Solids 49 (2001a) 2245) is proposed and used to study size effects in plane strain necking of thin sheets using the finite element method. Both sheets with rigid grips at the ends and specimens with shear free ends are analyzed. The strain gradient plasticity theory predicts delayed onset of localization when compared to conventional theory, and it depresses deformation localization in the neck. The sensitivity to imperfections is analyzed as well as differently hardening materials.     

An evaluation of higher-order plasticity theories for predicting size effects and localisation

Conventional plasticity theories are unable to capture the observed increase in strength of metallic structures with diminishing size. They also give rise to ill-posed boundary value problems at the onset of material softening. In order to overcome both deficiencies, a range of higher-order plasticity theories have been formulated in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to compare existing higher-order theories for the prediction of a size effect and the handling of localisation effects. To this end, size effect predictions for foils in bending are compared with existing experimental data. Furthermore, a study of one-dimensional harmonic incremental solutions from a uniform reference state allows one to assess the nature of material localisation as predicted by these competing higher-order theories. These analyses show that only one of the theories considered—the Fleck–Hutchinson strain gradient plasticity theory based upon the Toupin–Mindlin strain gradient framework [Fleck, N.A., Hutchinson, J.W., 1997. Strain gradient plasticity. Adv. Appl. Mech. 33, 295–361]—allows one to describe both phenomena. The other theories show either nonphysical size effects or a pathologically localised post-peak response.     

基于Hellinger-Reissner变分原理的应变梯度杂交元设计

从一般的偶应力理论出发,基于Hellinger-Reissner变分原理,通过对有限元 离散体系的位移试解引入非协调位移函数,得到了偶应力理论下有限元离散系统的能量相容 条件,并由此建立了应变梯度杂交元的应力函数优化条件. 根据该优化条件,构造了一 个C0类的平面4节点梯度杂交元,数值结果表明,该单元对可压缩和不可压缩状态的 梯度材料均可给出合理的数值结果,再现材料的尺度效应.     

Scale-dependent plasticity potential of porous materials and void growth

In the present paper, a boundary value problem about the macroscopic response and its microscopic mechanism of a representative spherical cell with a spherical microvoid under axisymmetric triaxial tension has been theoretically investigated. To capture the size effects of local plastic deformation in the matrix, the strain gradient constitutive theory including the rotation and the stretch gradients developed by Fleck and Hutchinson [Strain gradient plasticity, in: J.W. Hutchinson, T.Y. Wu (Eds.), Advance in Applied Mechanics, vol. 33, Academic Press, New York, 1997, p. 295] is adopted. By means of the principle of minimum plasticity potential and the Lagrange multipliers method, the self-contained displacement field within the matrix has been computationally determined. Based on these, a size-dependent constitutive potential theory for porous material has been developed. The results indicate clearly that the microvoid evolution predicted by the present constitutive model displays very significant dependences on the void size especially when the radius a of microvoids is comparable with the intrinsic characteristic length l of the matrix. And when the void radius a is much lager than l, the present model can retrogress automatically to the Gurson model improved by Wang and Qin [Acta Mech. Solid. Sin. 10 (1989) 127, in Chinese].     

Size effects in the conical indentation of an elasto-plastic solid

The size effect in conical indentation of an elasto-plastic solid is predicted via the Fleck and Willis formulation of strain gradient plasticity (Fleck, N.A. and Willis, J.R., 2009, A mathematical basis for strain gradient plasticity theory. Part II: tensorial plastic multiplier, J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 57, 1045–1057). The rate-dependent formulation is implemented numerically and the full-field indentation problem is analyzed via finite element calculations, for both ideally plastic behavior and dissipative hardening. The isotropic strain-gradient theory involves three material length scales, and the relative significance of these length scales upon the degree of size effect is assessed. Indentation maps are generated to summarize the sensitivity of indentation hardness to indent size, indenter geometry and material properties (such as yield strain and strain hardening index). The finite element model is also used to evaluate the pertinence of the Johnson cavity expansion model and of the Nix–Gao model, which have been extensively used to predict size effects in indentation hardness.     

Thermodynamics applied to gradient theories involving the accumulated plastic strain: The theories of Aifantis and Fleck and Hutchinson and their generalization

We discuss the physical nature of flow rules for rate-independent (gradient) plasticity laid down by Aifantis and by Fleck and Hutchinson. As a central result we show that:

•

the flow rule of Fleck and Hutchinson is incompatible with thermodynamics unless its nonlocal term is dropped. If the underlying theory is augmented by a general defect energy dependent on γ^p and ∇γ^p, then compatibility with thermodynamics requires that its flow rule reduce to that of Aifantis.

We establish this result (and others) within a general framework obtained by combining a virtual-power principle of Fleck and Hutchinson with the first two laws of thermodynamics—balance of energy and the Clausius-Duhem inequality—under isothermal conditions.     

Prediction of the initial thickness of shear band localization based on a reduced strain gradient theory

Plastic flow localization in ductile materials subjected to pure shear loading and uniaxial tension is investigated respectively in this paper using a reduced strain gradient theory, which consists of the couple-stress (CS) strain gradient theory proposed by Fleck and Hutchinson (1993) and the strain gradient hardening (softening) law (C–W) proposed by Chen and Wang (2000). Unlike the classical plasticity framework, the initial thickness of the shear band and the strain rate distribution in both cases are predicted analytically using a bifurcation analysis. It shows that the strain rate is obviously non-uniform inside the shear band and reaches a maximum at the center of the shear band. The initial thickness of the shear band depends on not only the material intrinsic length l_cs but also the material constants, such as the yield strength, ultimate tension strength, the linear hardening and softening shear moduli. Specially, in the uniaxial tension case, the most possible tilt angle of shear band localization is consistent qualitatively with the existing experimental observations. The results in this paper should be useful for engineers to predict the details of material failures due to plastic flow localization.     

A study of microbend test by strain gradient plasticity

Metallic materials display strong size effect when the characteristic length associated with plastic deformation is on the order of microns. This size effect cannot be explained by classical plasticity theories since their constitutive relations do not have an intrinsic material length. Strain gradient plasticity has been developed to extend continuum plasticity to the micron or submicron regime. One major issue in strain gradient plasticity is the determination of the intrinsic material length that scales with strain gradients, and several microbend test specimens have been designed for this purpose. We have studied different microbend test specimens using the theory of strain gradient plasticity. The pure bending specimen, cantilever beam, and the microbend test specimen developed by Stolken and Evans (Stolken, J.S., Evans, A.G., 1998. A microbend test method for measuring the plasticity length scale Acta Mater. 46, 5109–5115) are found suitable for the determination of intrinsic material length in strain gradient plasticity. However, the double cantilever beam (both ends clamped) is unsuitable since its deformation is dominated by axial stretching. The strain gradient effects significantly increase the bending stiffness of a microbend test specimen. The deflection of a 10-μm thick beam is only a few percent of that estimated by classical plasticity.     

Strain gradient crystal plasticity effects on flow localization

In metal grains one of the most important failure mechanisms involves shear band localization. As the band width is small, the deformations are affected by material length scales. To study localization in single grains a rate-dependent crystal plasticity formulation for finite strains is presented for metals described by the reformulated Fleck–Hutchinson strain gradient plasticity theory. The theory is implemented numerically within a finite element framework using slip rate increments and displacement increments as state variables. The formulation reduces to the classical crystal plasticity theory in the absence of strain gradients. The model is used to study the effect of an internal material length scale on the localization of plastic flow in shear bands in a single crystal under plane strain tension. It is shown that the mesh sensitivity is removed when using the nonlocal material model considered. Furthermore, it is illustrated how different hardening functions affect the formation of shear bands.     

Finite element implementation and numerical issues of strain gradient plasticity with application to metal matrix composites

A framework of finite element equations for strain gradient plasticity is presented. The theoretical framework requires plastic strain degrees of freedom in addition to displacements and a plane strain version is implemented into a commercial finite element code. A couple of different elements of quadrilateral type are examined and a few numerical issues are addressed related to these elements as well as to strain gradient plasticity theories in general. Numerical results are presented for an idealized cell model of a metal matrix composite under shear loading. It is shown that strengthening due to fiber size is captured but strengthening due to fiber shape is not. A few modelling aspects of this problem are discussed as well. An analytic solution is also presented which illustrates similarities to other theories.     

A conventional theory of mechanism-based strain gradient plasticity

There exist two frameworks of strain gradient plasticity theories to model size effects observed at the micron and sub-micron scales in experiments. The first framework involves the higher-order stress and therefore requires extra boundary conditions, such as the theory of mechanism-based strain gradient (MSG) plasticity [J Mech Phys Solids 47 (1999) 1239; J Mech Phys Solids 48 (2000) 99; J Mater Res 15 (2000) 1786] established from the Taylor dislocation model. The other framework does not involve the higher-order stress, and the strain gradient effect come into play via the incremental plastic moduli. A conventional theory of mechanism-based strain gradient plasticity is established in this paper. It is also based on the Taylor dislocation model, but it does not involve the higher-order stress and therefore falls into the second strain gradient plasticity framework that preserves the structure of conventional plasticity theories. The plastic strain gradient appears only in the constitutive model, and the equilibrium equations and boundary conditions are the same as the conventional continuum theories. It is shown that the difference between this theory and the higher-order MSG plasticity theory based on the same dislocation model is only significant within a thin boundary layer of the solid.     

Influences of particle size and interface energy on the stress concentration induced by the oblate spheroidal particle and the void nucleation mechanism

Separation of the particle–matrix interface and breakage of the second-phase particle are two main void nucleation mechanisms, which are directly associated with the stress concentration factors (SCFs) at the interface and within the particle, respectively. This work investigates the coupled effects of particle size and particle shape on these stress concentrations by solving an infinite solid containing an oblate spheroidal particle under remote stress boundary condition. The phenomenological strain plasticity theory by Fleck–Hutchinson [Fleck, N.A., Hutchinson, J.W., 1997. Strain gradient plasticity. In: Hutchinson, J.W., Wu, T.Y. (Eds.), Advance in Applied Mechanics, vol. 33. Academic Press, New York, pp. 295–361] is adopted to capture the size effect, various particle aspect ratios are considered to depict the particle shape effect and an interfacial energy concept is introduced to settle the double-traction equilibrium problem at the matrix–particle interface. By using a Ritz procedure, solutions about the stress concentrations are numerically achieved and three main results are found. First, the interfacial normal stress near the particle pole, the interfacial shear stress and the particle opening stress are dramatically elevated and their distributions are significantly modified by decrease in the particle size. Second, this particle size effect is influenced by the remote effective strain, remote stress triaxiality and the interfacial energy to different extent. Finally, the particle shape effect is coupled with this particle size effect, and the more oblate the particle is, the more significant the size effect on SCF elevation is. These findings are helpful for us to understand deeply the void nucleation mechanism at the micron scale.     

Functionally graded structural members obtained via the low temperature strain induced phase transformation

The notion of functionally graded materials (FGM) covers all domains of discrete and smooth gradation of material microstructure designed in order to obtain macroscopic features suitable for a given application. A special class of multi-phase materials with graded microstructure can be obtained at cryogenic temperatures as a result of smooth transition from the parent phase to the secondary phase. The required continuously graded material features are obtained at low temperatures via the mechanism of controlled strain induced phase transformation from the purely austenitic to the martensitic lattice (γ → α′). Several families of ductile materials are known to behave in a metastable way when strained at very low temperatures. Among them the austenitic stainless steels are extensively used to construct components of the superconducting magnets, cryogenic transfer lines and other structural members loaded in cryogenic conditions. The constitutive model used to describe mathematically the plastic strain induced phase transformation at low temperatures involves strain hardening where two fundamental effects play an important role: interaction of dislocations with the martensite inclusions and increase in material tangent stiffness due to the mixture of harder martensite with softer austenite. The interaction of dislocations with the martensite inclusions is reflected by the hardening modulus that depends on the volume fraction of martensite. Here, a linear approximation, based on the micro-mechanics analysis, is used. On the other hand, evaluation of the material tangent stiffness of two-phase continuum is based on the classical homogenization scheme and takes into account the local tangent moduli of the components, as postulated by Hill [Hill, R., 1965. A self consistent mechanics of composite materials. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 13, 213–222]. In the present paper, the Mori–Tanaka homogenisation scheme is applied. Both effects contribute to strong nonlinear hardening that occurs as soon as the phase transformation process begins. The material model is suitable for a wide range of temperatures, however the best results are obtained at very low temperatures, where the linearized kinetic law of phase transformation is valid [Garion, C., Skoczeń B., 2002. Modeling of plastic strain induced martensitic transformation for cryogenic applications. J. Appl. Mech. 69 (6), 755–762]. As the application field the structural members in the form of rods (cylinders) of circular cross-section, used as parts of the carrying structures, are analyzed. The required graded microstructure of the material is obtained by imposing torsion at cryogenic temperatures. Both the intensity of the phase transformation and the depth of the transformed zone is obtained by suitable kinematic control (angle of twist). The closed form solutions for the stress state and torque as a function of the angle of twist are shown.     

RVE-based studies on the coupled effects of void size and void shape on yield behavior and void growth at micron scales

The present paper extends the Gurson and GLD models [Gurson, A.L., 1977. Continuum theory of ductile rupture by void nucleation and growth, Part I—yield criteria and flow rules for porous ductile media. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 99, 2–15; Gologanu, M., Leblond, J.B., Devaux, J., 1993. Approximate models for ductile metals containing non-spherical voids—case of axisymmetric prolate ellipsoidal cavities. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 41, 1723–1754; Gologanu, M., Leblond, J.B., Devaux, J., 1994. Approximate models for ductile metals containing non-spherical voids—case of axisymmetric oblate ellipsoidal cavities. J. Eng. Mater. Technol. 116, 290–297] to involve the coupled effects of void size and void shape on the macroscopic yield behavior of non-linear porous materials and on the void growth. A spheroidal representative volume element (RVE) under a remote axisymmetric homogenous strain boundary condition is carefully analyzed. A wide range of void aspect ratios covering the oblate spheroidal, spherical and prolate spheroidal void are taken into account to reflect the shape effect. The size effect is captured by the Fleck–Hutchinson phenomenological strain gradient plasticity theory [Fleck, N.A., Hutchinson, J.W., 1997. Strain gradient plasticity. In: Hutchinson, J.W., Wu, T.Y. (Eds.), Advance in Applied Mechanics, vol. 33, Academic Press, New York, pp. 295–361]. A new size-dependent damage model like the Gurson and GLD models is developed based on the traditional minimum plasticity potential principle. Consequently, the coupled effects of void size and void shape on yield behavior of porous materials and void growth are discussed in detail. The results indicate that the void shape effect on the yield behavior of porous materials and on the void growth can be modified dramatically by the void size effect and vice versa. The applied stress triaxiality plays an important role in these coupled effects. Moreover, there exists a cut-off void radius r_c, which depends only on the intrinsic length l₁ associated with the stretch strain gradient. Voids of effective radius smaller than the critical radius r_c are less susceptible to grow. These findings are helpful to our further understanding to some impenetrable micrographs of the ductile fracture surfaces.     

A deformation theory of strain gradient crystal plasticity that accounts for geometrically necessary dislocations

We propose a deformation theory of strain gradient crystal plasticity that accounts for the density of geometrically necessary dislocations by including, as an independent kinematic variable, Nye's dislocation density tensor [1953. Acta Metallurgica 1, 153-162]. This is accomplished in the same fashion as proposed by Gurtin and co-workers (see, for instance, Gurtin and Needleman [2005. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 53, 1-31]) in the context of a flow theory of crystal plasticity, by introducing the so-called defect energy. Moreover, in order to better describe the strengthening accompanied by diminishing size, we propose that the classical part of the plastic potential may be dependent on both the plastic slip vector and its gradient; for single crystals, this also makes it easier to deal with the “higher-order” boundary conditions. We develop both the kinematic formulation and its static dual and apply the theory to the simple shear of a constrained strip (example already exploited in Shu et al. [2001. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 49, 1361-1395], Bittencourt et al. [2003. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 51, 281-310], Niordson and Hutchinson [2003. Euro J. Mech. Phys. Solids 22, 771-778], Evers et al. [2004. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 52, 2379-2401], and Anand et al. [2005. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 53, 1789-1826]) to investigate what sort of behaviour the new model predicts. The availability of the total potential energy functional and its static dual allows us to easily solve this simple boundary value problem by resorting to the Ritz method.