Investigating mesh sensitivity and polycrystalline RVEs in crystal plasticity finite element simulations

Journal Article · Sun Jun 09 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · International Journal of Plasticity

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijplas.2019.06.001· OSTI ID:1529307

Lim, Hojun ^[1]; Battaile, Corbett Chandler ^[1]; Bishop, Joseph E. ^[1]; Foulk, III, James W. ^[2]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

Crystal plasticity-finite element method (CP-FEM) is now widely used to understand the mechanical response of polycrystalline materials. However, quantitative mesh convergence tests and verification of the necessary size of polycrystalline representative volume elements (RVE) are often overlooked in CP-FEM simulations. Mesh convergence studies in CP-FEM models are more challenging compared to conventional finite element analysis (FEA) as they are not only computationally expensive but also require explicit discretization of individual grains using many finite elements. Resolving each grains within a polycrystalline domain complicates mesh convergence study since mesh convergence is strongly affected by the initial crystal orientations of grains and local loading conditions. In this work, large-scale CP-FEM simulations of single crystals and polycrystals are conducted to study mesh sensitivity in CP-FEM models. Various factors that may affect the mesh convergence in CP-FEM simulations, such as initial textures, hardening models and boundary conditions are investigated. In addition, the total number of grains required to obtain adequate RVE is investigated. Furthermore, this work provides a list of guidelines for mesh convergence and RVE generation in CP-FEM modeling.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1529307
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1702171; OSTI ID: 1643244
• Report Number(s): SAND--2018-13777J; 670894
• Journal Information: International Journal of Plasticity, Journal Name: International Journal of Plasticity Journal Issue: C Vol. 121; ISSN 0749-6419
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Crystal plasticity
Mesh sensitivity
Microstructure
Representative volume elements