A physics-based plasticity study of the mechanism of inhomogeneous strain evolution in dual phase 600 steel

Abstract

In this study, we employ a physics-based crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) approach to study the microstructural response of DP600 steel to various loading types. With the pursued approach, it is possible link microstructural changes in the dual phase (DP) steel to its macroscopic response in a convenient and efficient manner. Microstructural data were acquired first from experimental work via the electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) method. DP crystallographic features were then fed to a numerical hybrid calculation subroutine combining a comprehensive physics-based crystal plasticity scheme for ferrite along with an isotropic plasticity scheme for martensite defined on a single-layer representative volume element (RVE). The developed single-layer 3D mode, while allowing for high computational efficiency, can capture the stress/strain distribution, revealing the microscopic features of the deformation process including the physical evolution of the dislocation density, retexturing, and morphology. The single-layer RVE physics-based method employed herein establishes the strong correlation between morphology, dislocation density and deformation response of the material under various loading types. Specifically, findings reveal that the tendency of the ferrite phase neighboring the martensite regions in the DP steel to retexture is much more profound than pure ferrite when subjected to the same loading conditions, pointing out to the steep strain gradients in the former component. Martensite phase facilitates considerable heterogeneity in the stress and strain distribution, increases the misorientation polarization as well as leading to local strain hardening in the neighboring ferrite volume that stem from profound increase in spatial dislocation density. Stress-strain curves under various loading schemes are simulated and discussed in the light of the experimental findings in literature, revealing the dependence of the microstructural evolution on the loading type.