A homogenization theory of strain gradient single crystal plasticity and its finite element discretization

In this study, a homogenization theory based on the Gurtin strain gradient formulation and its finite element discretization are developed for investigating the size effects on macroscopic responses of periodic materials. To derive the homogenization equations consisting of the relation of macroscopic stress, the weak form of stress balance, and the weak form of microforce balance, the Y-periodicity is used as additional, as well as standard, boundary conditions at the boundary of a unit cell. Then, by applying a tangent modulus method, a set of finite element equations is obtained from the homogenization equations. The computational stability and efficiency of this finite element discretization are verified by analyzing a model composite. Furthermore, a model polycrystal is analyzed for investigating the grain size dependence of polycrystal plasticity. In this analysis, the micro-clamped, micro-free, and defect-free conditions are considered as the additional boundary conditions at grain boundaries, and their effects are discussed.     

Analyzing the orientation dependence of stresses in polycrystals using vertices of the single crystal yield surface and crystallographic fibers of orientation space

The influence of the polygonal geometry of the restricted slip-associated yield surface on the distribution of stresses over a polycrystalline aggregate is examined. The vertices of the yield surface (stress states corresponding to polyslip) are grouped according to symmetries imposed by crystal structure. A measure of coaxiality between crystal stresses and yield surface vertex stresses is used to quantify the proximity of the stress in each crystal to a yield surface vertex. It is shown that for prescribed stress states, crystal stresses align more closely with certain families of vertices than with others and this relation between crystal and vertex stresses is found to depend on crystallographic fibers. Using this information, the stress distributions from finite element simulations of face centered cubic polycrystals are analyzed for different stress states ranging from uniaxial to balanced biaxial. Over the fundamental region of orientations, the propensity for the stress to align with a vertex is demonstrated. Further, the stresses in elements contributing to certain crystallographic fibers are shown to favor the vertex families aligned with those fibers. The implications of these results on mechanical behaviors, especially with respect to those observed in diffraction experiments, are discussed.     

A continuum model for intermittent deformation of single crystal micropillars

Strain bursts are often observed during compression tests of single crystal micropillars. In this work, we formulate a new continuum model that accounts for the strain bursts within the framework of crystal plasticity. The strain bursts are separated from the loading stage (nearly elastic loading) by introducing a dimensionless constant in the continuum model, and are detected by load serrations. The boundary conditions in the context of micropillar compression are studied and they are shown to be changing and unpredictable as plastic deformation proceeds. To evaluate the validity of our model, finite element simulations of the uniaxial compression tests on nickel micropillars are performed. Our simulations produce clearly visible strain bursts during the plastic flow and the produced intermittent flows are comparable with the experimental observations. For the bulk crystal, a series of strain bursts is identified in the course of plastic flow, despite an apparently smooth stress–strain response. We also show that the intermittent flow is intensified in the micrometer-scale due to both increasing numbers of the successive strain bursts and increasing amplitude of the strain burst, when the specimen size decreases. Finally, we show that the occurrences of the strain bursts are always associated with negative values of the second-order work.     

Plane constrained shear of single crystal strip with two active slip systems

Within continuum dislocation theory the plane constrained shear of a single crystal strip with two active slip systems is considered. An analytical solution is found for symmetric double slip which exhibits the energetic and dissipative thresholds for dislocation nucleation, the Bauschinger translational work hardening, and the size effects. Comparison with discrete dislocation simulations shows good agreement between the discrete and continuum approaches. Numerical procedures in the general case of non-symmetric double slip are proposed.     

Effect of secondary orientation on notch-tip plasticity in superalloy single crystals

Numerical and experimental evolutions of slip fields in notched Ni-Base Single Crystal superalloy tensile specimens are presented as a function of secondary crystallographic orientation. The numerical predictions based on three-dimensional anisotropic elasticity and crystal plasticity are compared with experimental observations. The results illustrate the strong dependence of the slip patterns and the plastic zone size and shape on the secondary orientation of notches, which can have important consequences on crack initiation. Specific orientations or non-symmetric notch geometries lead to non-symmetric patterns on both sides of the sample. The computations show that strongly different plastic zones are expected in the core of the sample and at free surfaces. The ability of the anisotropic elastic model to anticipate the plastic domains, based on identifying dominant slip systems, is confirmed by the crystal plasticity computations, at low load levels. An important observation is that kink shear banding is a real deformation mode operating at crack tips and notches in high strength nickel-based single crystal superalloys for specific orientations.     

Deformation and failure mechanisms of single crystal superalloy under temperature gradient

The crystallographic constitutive model under temperature gradient is developed and introduced to study the deformation and failure mechanisms of single crystal superalloy. Tensile tests of thin-walled pipe specimen at different temperatures without cooled air flow were carried out. Based on the experimental results, the temperature dependence of constitutive model was studied and the basic parameters of constitutive model were obtained. To investigate the deformation and failure mechanisms, the thin-walled pipe specimen with cooled air flow under temperature gradient were tested. Considered the fluid-solid interface (FSI), a finite element method (FEM) was proposed to simulate the process of tension. In FEM, the activation rate of slip system was defined as the failure law of specimen under temperature gradient. The simulation result was in good agreement with the experiment result. Furthermore, the fracture surface of the specimen was observed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microstructure revealed that the slip deformation belonged to {1 1 1} crystalplane is a principal failure mechanism of single crystal superalloy under temperature gradient. The results of the SEM also implied that the proposed FEM method can be used to systemically study the deformation and failure behavior of single crystal superalloy cooled blade.     

Microscale deformation of a tempered martensite ferritic steel: Modelling and experimental study of grain and sub-grain interactions

In this paper, a finite-element modelling framework is presented with explicit representation of polycrystalline microstructure for a tempered martensite ferritic steel. A miniature notched specimen was manufactured from P91 steel with a 20,000 h service history and tested at room temperature under three point bending. Deformation at the microscale is quantified by electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) before and after mechanical loading. A representative volume element was developed, based on the initial EBSD scan, and a crystal plasticity model used to account for slip-based inelastic deformation in the material. The model showed excellent correlation with the experimental data when the relevant comparisons were made.     

Incorporation of twinning into a crystal plasticity finite element model: Evolution of lattice strains and texture in Zircaloy-2

A crystal plasticity finite element code is developed to model lattice strains and texture evolution of HCP crystals. The code is implemented to model elastic and plastic deformation considering slip and twinning based plastic deformation. The model accounts for twinning reorientation and growth. Twinning, as well as slip, is considered to follow a rate dependent formulation. The results of the simulations are compared to previously published in situ neutron diffraction data. Experimental results of the evolution of the texture and lattice strains under uniaxial tension/compression loading along the rolling, transverse, and normal direction of a piece of rolled Zircaloy-2 are compared with model predictions. The rate dependent formulation introduced is capable of correctly capturing the influence of slip and twinning deformation on lattice strains as well as texture evolution.     

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

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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.     

Heterogeneous deformation and spall of an extruded tungsten alloy: plate impact experiments and crystal plasticity modeling

The role of microstructure in the dynamic deformation and fracture of a dual phase, polycrystalline tungsten alloy under high-rate impact loading is investigated via experiments and modeling. The material studied consists of pure tungsten crystals embedded in a ductile binder alloy comprised of tungsten, nickel, and iron. The tungsten crystals are elongated in a preferred direction of extrusion during processing. Plate impact tests were conducted on samples oriented either perpendicular or parallel to the extrusion direction. Spatially resolved interferometric data from these tests were used to extract wave propagation behavior and spall strength dependent upon position in the sample microstructure. Finite element simulations of impact and spall in digitally reproduced microstructural geometries were conducted in parallel with the experiments. Finite deformation crystal plasticity theory describes the behavior of the pure tungsten and binder phases, and a stress- and temperature-based cohesive zone model captures fracture at grain and phase boundaries in the microstructure. In results from both experiments and modeling, the grain orientations affect the free-surface velocity profile and spall behavior. Some aspects of distributions of free-surface velocity and spall strength among different microstructure configurations are qualitatively similar between experimental and numerical results, while others are not as a result of differing scales of resolution and modeling assumptions. Following a comparison of experimental and numerical results for different microstructures, intergranular fracture is identified as an important mechanism underlying the spall event.     

A new crystal plasticity scheme for explicit time integration codes to simulate deformation in 3D microstructures: Effects of strain path,strain rate and thermal softening on localized deformation in the aluminum alloy 5754 during simple shear

The predominant deformation mode during material failure is shear. In this paper, a crystal plasticity scheme for explicit time integration codes is developed based on a forward Euler algorithm. The numerical model is incorporated in the UMAT subroutine for implementing rate-dependent crystal plasticity model in LS-DYNA/Explicit. The sheet is modeled as a face centered cubic (FCC) polycrystalline aggregate, and a finite element analysis based on rate-dependent crystal plasticity is implemented to analyze the effects of three different strain paths consisting predominantly of shear. Finite element meshes containing texture data are created with solid elements. The material model can incorporate information obtained from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and apply crystal orientation to each element as well as account for texture evolution. Single elements or multiple elements are used to represent each grain within a microstructure. The three dimensional (3D) polycrystalline microstructure of the aluminum alloy AA5754 is modeled and subjected to three different strain rates for each strain path. The effects of strain paths, strain rates and thermal softening on the formation of localized deformation are investigated. Simulations show that strain path is the most dominant factor in localized deformation and texture evolution.     

Nanoindentation and the indentation size effect: Kinetics of deformation and strain gradient plasticity

A study of the indentation size effect (ISE) in aluminum and alpha brass is presented. The study employs rate effects to examine the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the ISE. These rate effects are characterized in terms of the rate sensitivity of the hardness, , where H is the hardness and is an effective strain rate in the plastic volume beneath the indenter. can be measured using indentation creep, load relaxation, or rate change experiments. The activation volume V∗, calculated based on which can traditionally be used to compare rate sensitivity data from a hardness test to conventional uniaxial testing, is calculated. Using materials with different stacking fault energy and specimens with different levels of work hardening, we demonstrate how increasing the dislocation density affects V∗; these effects may be taken as a kinetic signature of dislocation strengthening mechanisms. We noticed both H and exhibit an ISE. The course of V∗ vs. H as a result of the ISE is consistent with the course of testing specimens with different level of work hardening. This result was observed in both materials. This suggests that a dislocation mechanism is responsible for the ISE. When the results are fitted to a strain gradient plasticity model, the data at deep indents (microhardness and large nanoindentation) exhibit a straight-line behavior closely identical to literature data. However, for shallow indents (nanoindentation data), the slope of the line severely changes, decreasing by a factor of 10, resulting in a “bilinear behavior”.     

Finite viscoelasticity, plasticity and damage of a class of filled elastomers: Constitutive model

A constitutive model is proposed for a class of filled elastomers exhibiting permanent strain at zero stress, in which hyper-visco-elasticity, plasticity and damage are only weakly coupled. The free energy is expressed as the sum of three terms: a hyperelastic term, a positive hardening function, and a negative damage function. The state relations are then established by postulating a dissipation potential and assuming Norton-Hoff type variations of plasticity and damage. An illustrative example of the model potentialities is given, concerning the Mullins' effect.     

The key role of dislocation dissociation in the plastic behaviour of single crystal nickel-based superalloy with low stacking fault energy: Three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics modelling

To model the deformation of single crystal nickel based superalloys (SCNBS) with low stacking fault energy (SFE), three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics (3D-DDD) is extended by incorporating dislocation dissociation mechanism. The present 3D-DDD simulations show that, consistent with the existing TEM observation, the leading partial can enter the matrix channel efficiently while the trailing partial can hardly glide into it when the dislocation dissociation is taken into account. To determine whether the dislocation dissociation can occur or not, a critical percolation stress (CPS) based criterion is suggested. According to this CPS criterion, for SCNBS there exists a critical matrix channel width. When the channel width is lower than this critical value, the dislocation tends to dissociate into an extended configuration and vice versa. To clarify the influence of dislocation dissociation on CPS, the classical Orowan formula is improved by incorporating the SFE. Moreover, the present 3D-DDD simulations also show that the yielding stress of SCNBSs with low SFE may be overestimated up to 30% if the dislocation dissociation is ignored. With dislocation dissociation being considered, the size effect due to the width of γ matrix channel and the length of γ′ precipitates on the stress–strain responses of SCNBS can be enhanced remarkably. In addition, due to the strong constraint effect by the two-phase microstructure in SCNBS, the configuration of formed junctions is quite different from that in single phase crystals such as Cu. The present results not only provide clear understanding of the two-phase microstructure levelled microplastic mechanisms in SCNBSs with low SFE, but also help to develop new continuum-levelled constitutive laws for SCNBSs.