Milan Ardeljan

Enhancement of orientation gradients during simple shear deformation by application of simple compression

We use a multi-scale, polycrystal plasticity micromechanics model to study the development of orientation gradients within crystals deforming by slip. At the largest scale, the model is a full-field crystal plasticity finite element model with explicit 3D grain structures created by DREAM.3D, and at the finest scale, at each integration point, slip is governed by a dislocation density based hardening law. For deformed polycrystals, the model predicts intra-granular misorientation distributions that follow well the scaling law seen experimentally by Hughes et al., Acta Mater. 45(1), 105–112 (1997), independent of strain level and deformation mode. We reveal that the application of a simple compression step prior to simple shearing significantly enhances the development of intra-granular misorientations compared to simple shearing alone for the same amount of total strain. We rationalize that the changes in crystallographic orientation and shape evolution when going from simple compression to simple shearing increase the local heterogeneity in slip, leading to the boost in intra-granular misorientation development. In addition, the analysis finds that simple compression introduces additional crystal orientations that are prone to developing intra-granular misorientations, which also help to increase intra-granular misorientations. Many metal working techniques for refining grain sizes involve a preliminary or concurrent application of compression with severe simple shearing. Our finding reveals that a pre-compression deformation step can, in fact, serve as another processing variable for improving the rate of grain refinement during the simple shearing of polycrystalline metals.

A multi-scale model for texture development in Zr/Nb nanolayered composites processed by accumulative roll bonding

Recently it has been demonstrated that nanolayered hcp/bcc Zr/Nb composites can be fabricated with a severe plastic deformation technique called accumulative roll bonding (ARB) [1]. The final layer thickness averaged to approximately 90 nm for both phases. Interestingly, the texture measurements show that the textures in each phase correspond to those of rolled single-phase rolled Zr and Nb for a wide range of layer thickness from the micron to the nanoscales. This is in remarkable contrast to fcc/bcc Cu/Nb layered composites made by the same ARB technique, which developed textures that strongly deviated from theoretical rolling textures of Cu or Nb alone when the layers were refined to submicron and nanoscale dimensions. To model texture evolution and reveal the underlying deformation mechanisms, we developed a 3D multiscale model that combines crystal plasticity finite element with a thermally activated dislocation density based hardening law [2]. For systematic study, the model is applied to a two-phase Zr/Nb polycrystalline laminate and to the same polycrystalline Zr and polycrystalline Nb as single-phase metals. Consistent with the measurement, the model predicts that texture evolution in the phases in the composite and the relative activities of the hcp slip modes are very similar to those in the phases in monolithic form. In addition, the two-phase model also finds that no through-thickness texture gradient develops. This result suggests that neither the nanoscale grain sizes nor the bimetal Zr/Nb interfaces induce deformation mechanisms different from those at the coarse-grain scale.