Concurrent multi-scale crush simulations with a crystal plasticity model

Abstract

The crush behavior of polycrystalline metallic square tubes under quasi-static axial loading condition is investigated through a mesoscale crystal plasticity model embedded in an explicit finite element simulation code as a concurrent multiscale model. The boundary value problem is defined at the local continuum scale whereas the material behavior is modeled at the mesoscale through crystal plasticity defined in a representative volume element. The anisotropic behavior of the tubes emerges from the texture induced by the large plastic deformations created during the manufacturing process. In this work, this effect is modeled by considering the texture generated by deforming a single element model with an embedded polycrystalline aggregate of face center cubic (FCC) crystals under basic loading paths, including uniaxial tension, uniaxial compression, and simple shear. This initial texture is then used at each integration point in the explicit crush simulations of a square tube model made of an FCC aluminum alloy. As energy absorption is dominated by the plastic collapse mechanisms at the corner elements, the influence of the initial texture and its evolution during crush are found to be significant.