A probabilistic crystal plasticity model for modeling grain shape effects based on slip geometry

A new statistical theory is introduced that takes into account the coupling between grain size, shape and crystallographic texture during deformation of polycrystalline microstructures. A "grain size orientation distribution function" (GSODF) is used to encode the probability density of finding a grain size D along a direction (given by unit vector n) in grains with orientation g. The GSODF is sampled from the input microstructure and is represented in a finite element mesh. During elastoplastic deformation, the evolution of grain size D (in direction theta) and the orientation g is tracked by directly updating the GSODF probabilities using a Lagrangian probability update scheme. The effect of grain shape (e.g. in high aspect ratio grains) is modeled by including the apparent grain size as seen by various different active slip systems in the grain within the constitutive law for the slip system resistance. The prediction of texture and strains achieved by the statistical approach is compared to Taylor aggregate and finite element deformation analysis of a planar polycrystalline microstructure. The role of grain shape and size in determining plastic response is investigated and a new adaptive GSODF model for modeling microstructures with multimodal grain shapes is proposed. (c) 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.