Micromechanical modeling of the interactions between the microstructure and the dissipative deformation mechanisms in steels under cyclic loading

A micromechanical model is proposed to describe the interactions between the microstructure and the dissipative deformation mechanisms in ferritic steels under cyclic loading. The model aims at optimizing the microstructure of steels since the dissipative mechanisms can be responsible for the initiation of microcracks. Therefore, a better understanding of the influence of the microstructure could lead to an improvement of fatigue properties. The dissipative mechanisms are assumed to be either anelastic (dislocation oscillations) or inelastic (plastic slip) and are described at the scale of the slip system using the framework of crystal plasticity. The macroscopic behavior is then deduced with a homogenization scheme. The model is validated by comparing the simulations with experimental results and is finally used to predict the impact of different microstructure parameters on the heat dissipation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.