FFT-based micromechanical simulations of transformation plasticity. Comparison with a limit-analysis-based theory

This work addresses the numerical simulation of transformation plasticity by using a numerical scheme based on the fast Fourier transform (FFT). A two-phase material with isotropic thermo-elastoplastic phases is considered. Together with prescribed transformation kinetics, this permits to describe the plasticity induced by the accommodation of the volume change accompanying the phase transformation (Greenwood-Johnson mechanism). We consider random distributions of alpha-phase nuclei within a homogeneous gamma-phase matrix, with an isotropic growth law of the nuclei. The numerical results are compared to a recently proposed limit-analysisbased theory (El Majaty et al., 2018), which permits in particular to account for a nonlinear dependence of the transformation plastic strain'' with the stress applied. A very good agreement between the FFT simulations and the theory is obtained, for uniaxial and multiaxial loadings, over a wide range of stresses applied.

Automated summary

This study presents a numerical simulation of transformation plasticity using FFT, which shows good agreement with a recent limit-analysis-based theory. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the FFT simulations in capturing the transformation plasticity behavior.