Combined crystal plasticity and phase-field method for recrystallization in a process chain of sheet metal production

In sheet metal production, a typical process chain contains hot rolling, cold rolling and annealing as a sequence of consecutive processing steps. We investigate the grain structure evolution of body centered cubic low carbon steel and focus on recrystallization, by employing different computational methods which operate across the process chain and across length scales. In particular, we combine finite element crystal plasticity with phase-field simulations to study the effect of deformation of the grain structure by hot and cold rolling on recrystallization during annealing. The overall goal is to represent the most important technological quantities such as texture evolution and the fraction of recrystallization. The results of grain quantities are validated by a comparison of the orientation distribution functions with experimental electron backscatter measurements. The coupling of the simulation methods has shown that the effects of recrystallization can be recovered well, depending on the preceding processing conditions.