W. Tong

An experimental study on grain deformation and interactions in an Al-0.5%Mg multicrystal

Abstract Heterogeneous plastic deformation behavior of a coarse-grained Al-0.5%Mg multicrystal was investigated experimentally at the individual grain level. A flat uniaxial tensile specimen consisting of a single layer of millimeter-sized grains was deformed quasi-statically up to an axial strain of 15% at room temperature. The initial local crystallographic orientations of the grains and their evolutions after 5, 12, and 15% plastic strains were measured by electron backscattered diffraction pattern analysis in a scanning electron microscope. The local in-plane plastic strains and rigid body rotations of the grains were measured by correlation of digital optical video images of the specimen surface acquired during the tensile test. It is found that both intergranular and intragranular plastic deformation fields in the aluminum multicrystal specimen under uniaxial tension are highly heterogeneous. Single or double sets of slip-plane traces were predominantly observed on the electro-polished surfaces of the millimeter-sized grains after deformation. The active slip systems associated with these observed slip-plane traces were identified based on the grain orientation after deformation, the Schmid factor, and grain interactions in terms of the slip-plane trace morphology at grain boundaries. It is found that the aluminum multicrystal obeys neither the Sachs nor the Taylor polycrystal deformation models but deforms heterogeneously to favor easy slip transmission and accommodation among the grains.

Detection of plastic deformation patterns in a binary aluminum alloy

A whole-field, in-plane strain-mapping technique is evaluated for in situ monitoring of plastic deformation patterns in aluminum sheet metals. This technique is built on the recent developments in digital image correlation and improved data reduction procedures. The sensitivity and accuracy of the measured local strain variations are critically examined in terms of random and systematic experimental errors, free-surface roughening due to large plastic deformation and microscopic surface grain deformation. Tensile specimens made from an annealed Al−Mg alloy sheet metal are subjected to a large plastic and macroscopically uniform deformation, and no visible deformation patterns can be identified by direct surface observation. Using an incremental strain-mapping approach, the existence of nonstationary deformation bands in the annealed Al−Mg alloy is uncovered. The developed technique can be used to study the formation and evolution of plastic deformation patterns and their effect on tensile ductility, formability and surface finish of sheet metals.

Strain characterization of propagative deformation bands

Abstract An experimental study on the formation and evolution of strain inhomogeneity in the form of deformation bands on the surface of polycrystalline sheet metals is presented. A whole field in-plane deformation measurement technique based on computer vision has been applied for in situ monitoring the development of plastic deformation patterns in annealed Al–5%Mg and recovered AA5182 aluminum sheet metals. The strain inhomogeneity over a rectangular area about 5 mm×3 mm on the sheet metal surfaces is found to increase steadily with increasing elongation during a uniaxial tensile test. Propagative deformation bands have been detected in both aluminum alloys by incremental strain mapping although no band-like deformation patterns can be identified by direct visual observation of Al–5%Mg specimen surfaces. The effect of plastic deformation patterns on surface finish, tensile ductility, and formability of sheet metals are elucidated. The approach and results of this experimental investigation can be valuable to physicallybased multiscale plasticity modeling of sheet metal forming.

Plastic surface strain mapping of bent sheets by image correlation

A technique using a single CCD camera, a precision rotation/translation stage, a telecentric zoom lens, and digital image correlation software is described for measuring surface profiles and surface plastic strain distributions of a bent thin sheet. The measurement principles, based on both parallel and pinhole perspective projections, are outlined and the relevant mathematical equations for computing the profiles and displacement fields on a curved surface are presented. The typical optical setup as well as the experimental measurement and digital image correlation analysis procedure are described. The maximum errors in the in-plane and out-of-plane coordinates or displacements are about ±5 and ±25 μm, respectively, and the maximum errors in surface strain mapping are about 0.1% or less based on a series of evaluation tests on flat and curved sample surfaces over a physical field of view of 15.2 × 11.4 mm2. As an application example, the shape and surface plastic strain distribution example, the shape and surface plastic strain distributions around a bent apex of a flat 2 mm thick automotive aluminum AA5182-O sheet, which underwent a 90° bend with three bend ratios of 2t, 1t, and 0.6t, are determined using the proposed technique.