A polycrystal plasticity model for predicting mechanical response and texture evolution during strain-path changes: Application to beryllium

A polycrystalline material, deformed to large plastic strains and subsequently reloaded along a distinct strain path, exhibits a change in flow stress and hardening behavior. Such changes upon reloading depend on the level of mechanical anisotropy induced by texture and sub-grain microstructure developed during prior loading. In order to comprehend such material behavior, we extend a previously developed rate- and temperature-sensitive hardening law for hexagonal single crystals that accounts explicitly for the evolution of dislocation densities by including the effects of reverse dislocation motion and de-twinning on strain hardening and texture evolution. The law is implemented within a visco-plastic self-consistent polycrystalline model and applied to simulate macroscopic behavior of polycrystalline beryllium during strain-path changes. We show that the model successfully captures the mechanical response and evolution of texture and twin volume fraction during pre-loading in compression and subsequent cross-reloading in compression along two orthogonal directions at two different strain rates. These predictions allow us to elucidate the role played by various slip and twin mechanisms, de-twinning, and reverse dislocation motion on strain hardening and texture evolution of beryllium during strain-path changes. The model is general and can be applied to any metal deforming by slip and twinning. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.