Crystal plasticity finite element method simulation of high pressure torsion

Severe plastic deformation (SPD) has been the subject of intensive investigations in recent years because of the unique physical and mechanical properties of ultrafine grained (UFG) materials fabricated by this technique. High pressure torsion (HPT) is one of the most widely used SPD techniques. The main aim of HPT processing is to produce extreme grain refinement and the ensuing strengthening of the processed material. There is no longer any doubt that this is achievable with most malleable and even with many hard-to-deform materials, and innumerable experimental results documented in the literatures are a convincing testimony to that. Despite this body of experimental evidence, the deformation mechanisms during the HPT process, which are pivotal in designing the routes to property improvement, are far from being understood. Up to now, a few numerical simulations have been reported. However, these simulations only gave reasonably satisfactory predictions due to the simplifications and shortcomings of the developed models, and are definitely insufficient to fully understand the deformation mechanisms of the HPT process. Therefore, a systematic study on modeling of plastic deformation behavior, texture evolution and grain refinement of the HPT process is essential. In the present study, a three-dimensional crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) model has been developed to offer a systematic understanding of the plastic deformation behavior, texture evolutions and grain fragmentation of single crystals during the full scale HPT process. The developed CPFEM model has been validated by comparing the simulation results with the experimental observations

Investigation of grain refinement mechanism of nickel single crystal during high pressure torsion by crystal plasticity modeling

The excellent properties of ultra-fine grained (UFG) materials are relevant to substantial grain refinement and the corresponding induced small grains delineated by high-angle grain boundaries. The present study aims to understand the grain refinement mechanism by examining the nickel single crystal processed by high pressure torsion (HPT), a severe plastic deformation method to produce UFG materials based upon crystal plasticity finite element (CPFEM) simulations. The predicted grain maps by the developed CPFEM model are capable of capturing the prominent characteristics associated with grain refinement in HPT. The evolution of the orientation of structural elements and the rotations of crystal lattices during the HPT process of the detected differently oriented grains are extensively examined. It has been found that there are mainly two intrinsic origins of lattice rotation which cause the initial single crystal to subdivide. The correlation between the crystallographic orientation changes and lattice rotations with the grain fragmentation are analyzed and discussed in detail based on the theory of crystal plasticity

A study of plastic deformation behavior during high pressure torsion process by crystal plasticity finite element simulation

High pressure torsion (HPT) is an efficient technique of producing ultrafine grained materials with exceptional small grain size. In this study, a crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) model has been developed to investigate the plastic deformation behavior of pure aluminum single crystal during the HPT process. The simulation results show that, the distribution and evolution of the macroscopic plastic strain and the accumulative shear strain are similar. The value increases with the increase of the distance from the center as well as the number of revolution. The simulation is capable of reflecting the anisotropic characteristics of HPT deformation, a non-homogenous deformation along the circumference of the sample could be observed. At the early stage of HPT deformation, the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) along the radial direction presents a rapid increase, followed by a moderate increase and then reaches the near-saturate state. As the HPT deformation proceeds, there is a relatively weak increase in the quasi-saturate value and the near-steady region expands gradually towards the sample center. The orientation changes during the HPT process with increasing applied strain predicted by the developed CPFEM model are also presented

The effect of gear-manufacturing quality on the mechanical and thermal responses of a polymer-gear pair

Gear-manufacturing quality affects the load sharing between the meshing gears as well as the load distribution along the width of the tooth. This study aims to investigate the effect of gear-manufacturing quality on the mechanical and thermal states of polymer-gear pairs and consequently on their lifetime. The deviations of the geometric quality parameters, i.e., the lead profile and pitch, were found to have a substantial effect on the stress (root and flank) state of the gear. The effect of the lead deviation was found to be most pronounced for the quality grades Q12 to Q10, where depending on the load, a 30–80% stress reduction was observed when improving the gear quality from Q12 to Q10. Improving the quality from Q10 to Q8 did not lead to a substantial improvement in the load distribution and the observed stress reduction was in range of 5–20%. Similar trends were found for the pitch deviation, where again the most pronounced stress reduction was seen when improving the quality grade from Q12 to Q10. The study reveals where the most effective changes, leading to an increased gear-life, can be achieved. Improving the gear quality grade from Q12 to Q11 proved to have a much more substantial effect than improving the gear quality from Q9 to Q8. Considering that improving the gear quality from Q12 to Q11 or even Q10 can be achieved by a proper tool design and corrective iterations with the right process parameters, while improving the quality from Q9 to Q8 is by far more challenging. A novel methodology is proposed to assess the effect of the gear’s quality on the generation of heat and the resulting operational temperature. The proposed methodology enables more accurate prediction of the gear pair’s operating temperature

A crystal plasticity FEM study of through-thickness deformation and texture in a {112} \u3c111\u3e aluminium single crystal during accumulative roll-bonding

In this study, a crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) model was used to study the deformation behaviour in an aluminium single crystal (1 1 2)[1 1 -1] processed by accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) up to 9 cycles. The simulation followed the real ARB process based on the developed finite element model. The predicted through-thickness texture matches well with the experimental observations. The deformation behaviours, in terms of crystal rotation, shear strain and slip system activation, in the first and second cycles (conventional rolling) were unidirectional, but the deformation was altered after ARB was applied from the third cycle onwards. Such alteration was found to be caused by the thickness position change and deformation discontinuity at interfaces, which were investigated in detail. The role that interfaces play became dominant over thickness position change as increasing ARB cycles

Characterization and Modelling of Manufacturing–Microstructure–Property–Mechanism Relationship for Advanced and Emerging Materials

Depending on the state of its raw materials, final products, and processes, materials manufacturing can be classified into either top-down manufacturing and bottom-up manufacturing, or subtractive manufacturing (SM) and additive manufacturing (AM) [...

Study of anisotropic plastic behavior in high pressure torsion of aluminum single crystal by crystal plasticity finite element method

In this study, a crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) model has been developed to investigate the anisotropic plastic behavior of (001) aluminum single crystal during high-pressure torsion (HPT). The distributions of equivalent plastic strain and Mises stress recorded on the sample surface are presented. The directional variations of plastic strain and Mises stress with the development of four-fold symmetry pattern are observed along the sample circumference. The crystallographic orientation evolution along the tangential direction is studied, and the corresponding lattice rotation and slip trace are predicted, respectively. The plastic anisotropy mechanism is discussed in detail based on the theory of crystal plasticity. The simulation results reveal that the differences in slip systems activation (dominant slip and multiple slips) are responsible for the anisotropic plastic deformation in HPT

Manufacturing Feasibility and Forming Properties of Cu-4Sn in Selective Laser Melting

Copper alloys, combined with selective laser melting (SLM) technology, have attracted increasing attention in aerospace engineering, automobile, and medical fields. However, there are some difficulties in SLM forming owing to low laser absorption and excellent thermal conductivity. It is, therefore, necessary to explore a copper alloy in SLM. In this research, manufacturing feasibility and forming properties of Cu-4Sn in SLM were investigated through a systematic experimental approach. Single-track experiments were used to narrow down processing parameter windows. A Greco-Latin square design with orthogonal parameter arrays was employed to control forming qualities of specimens. Analysis of variance was applied to establish statistical relationships, which described the effects of different processing parameters (i.e., laser power, scanning speed, and hatch space) on relative density (RD) and Vickers hardness of specimens. It was found that Cu-4Sn specimens were successfully manufactured by SLM for the first time and both its RD and Vickers hardness were mainly determined by the laser power. The maximum value of RD exceeded 93% theoretical density and the maximum value of Vickers hardness reached 118 HV 0.3/5. The best tensile strength of 316–320 MPa is inferior to that of pressure-processed Cu-4Sn and can be improved further by reducing defects

Tribological behavior of coated spur gear pairs with tooth surface roughness

Abstract Coating is an effective way to reduce friction and wear and to improve the contact-fatigue lives of gear components, which further guarantees a longer service life and better reliability of industrial machinery. The fact that the influence coefficient linking the tractions and stress components could not be expressed explicitly increases the difficulty of coated solids contact analysis. The complicated tribological behavior between tooth surfaces influenced by lubrication and surface roughness further adds difficulty to the coated gear pair contact problems. A numerical elastohydrodynamic lubricated (EHL) contact model of a coated gear pair is proposed by considering the coupled effects of gear kinematics, coating properties, lubrication, and surface roughness. The frequency response function and the discrete convolute, fast Fourier transformation (DC-FFT) method are combined to calculate the surface deformation and the subsurface stress fields at each meshing position along the line of action (LOA). The Ree-Eyring fluid is assumed to incorporate the non-Newtonian effect, which is represented in the generalized Reynolds equation. Influences of the ratio between the Young’s modulus of the coating and the substrate on the contact performance, such as pressure, film thickness, tooth friction coefficient, and subsurface stress field, are studied. The effect of the root mean square (RMS) value of the tooth surface roughness is studied by introducing the roughness data, deterministically measured by an optical profiler