Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher.
Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.
-
Free, publicly-accessible full text available September 1, 2025
-
Friction stir process models are typically validated by tuning heat transfer and friction coefficients until measured temperatures in either the tool or workpiece, but rarely in both, match simulated results. A three-dimensional finite element model for a tool plunge in an AA 6061-T6 is validated for temperature predictions in both the tool and workpiece using a friction coefficient that varies with time. Peak workpiece temperatures were within 1.5% of experimental temperatures and tool temperatures were off by 80 ∘C. The sensitivity of the predicted temperatures with respect to the workpiece/tool heat transfer coefficient was shown to be high for the tool and low for the workpiece, while the spindle torque was slightly underpredicted in the best case. These results show that workpiece/tool interface properties must be tuned by considering predictions on both sides of the heat generation interface in order to ensure a reliable process simulation.
Free, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2025 -
Modeling springback in sheet materials is challenging in aluminum alloys, especially when a complex strain path is applied. This paper presents results from pure bending experiments on AA 6016-T4 sheet material, where various plastic pre-strains were first applied prior to bending. A crystal plasticity based elasto-plastic selfconsistent (EPSC) model that includes the effect of backstress in the hardening law was used to predict final part shape after unloading. The backstress term in the model was calibrated using geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) content, measured experimentally by high resolution electron backscattered diffraction (HREBSD). The EPSC model predicted springforward angles for unstrained 1 mm AA 6016-T4 sheet with an error of 0.4% (0.3◦) in the worst case, while the J2 plasticity isotropic model overpredicted springforward angles by as much as 2.4% (2◦). For cases where uniaxial, plane-strain, and biaxial pre-strains were first imparted to the sheets before bending, the EPSC model with backstress accurately predicted the transition from springforward to springback, while the EPSC model without backstress did not. Backstress influence on model accuracy, which increased with greater pre-strain levels, appears to be correlated to the statistically stored dislocation (SSD) density computed by the model at the end of each pre-strain step.more » « less
-
null (Ed.)Continuous bending under tension (CBT) is known to achieve elongation-to-failure well above that achieved under a conventional uniaxial simple tension (ST) strain path. However, the detailed mechanism for supplying this increased ductility has not been fully understood. It is clear that the necking that occurs in a typical ST specimen is avoided by constantly moving the region of plastic deformation during the CBT process. The volume of material in which the flow stress is greatest is limited to a moving line where the rollers contact the sheet and superimpose bending stress on the applied tensile load. Hence the condition of a large volume of material experiencing stress greater than the material flow stress, leading to strain localization during ST, is avoided. However, the magnitude of the contribution of this phenomenon to the overall increase in elongation is unclear. In the current set of experiments, an elongation to fracture (ETF) of 4.56x and 3.7x higher than ST was achieved by fine-tuning CBT forming parameters for Q&P 1180 and TBF 1180, respectively. A comparison of maximum local strains near the final point of fracture in ST and CBT sheets via digital image correlation revealed that avoidance of localization of plastic strain during CBT accounts for less than half of the increased elongation in the CBT specimens for two steels containing different amounts of retained austenite (RA). Geometrically necessary dislocation evolution is monitored using high-resolution EBSD (HREBSD) for both strain paths, indicating a lower hardening rate in the CBT samples in the bulk of the sheet, potentially relating to the cyclical nature of the stress in the outer layers of the sheet. Interestingly, the GND evolution in the center of the sheet, which does not experience the same amplitude of cyclic stress, follows the ST behavior more closely than the sheet edges. This appears to contribute to a precipitous drop in residual ductility for the specimens that are pulled in ST after partial CBT processing. The rate of transformation of RA is also tracked in the steels, with a significantly lower rate of transformation during CBT, compared to ST. This suggests that a slower transformation rate achieved under CBT also contributed to higher strain-to-failure levels.more » « less
-
Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) is a widely used approach for characterising the microstructure of various materials. However, it is difficult to accurately distinguish similar (body centred cubic and body centred tetragonal, with small tetragonality) phases in steels using standard EBSD software. One method to tackle the problem of phase distinction is to measure the tetragonality of the phases, which can be done using simulated patterns and cross‐correlation techniques to detect distortion away from a perfectly cubic crystal lattice. However, small errors in the determination of microscope geometry (the so‐called pattern or projection centre) can cause significant errors in tetragonality measurement and lead to erroneous results. This paper utilises a new approach for accurate pattern centre determination via a strain minimisation routine across a large number of grains in dual phase steels. Tetragonality maps are then produced and used to identify phase and estimate local carbon content. The technique is implemented using both kinetically simulated and dynamically simulated patterns to determine their relative accuracy. Tetragonality maps, and subsequent phase maps, based on dynamically simulated patterns in a point‐by‐point and grain average comparison are found to consistently produce more precise and accurate results, with close to 90% accuracy for grain phase identification, when compared with an image‐quality identification method. The error in tetragonality measurements appears to be of the order of 1%, thus producing a commensurate ∼0.2% error in carbon content estimation. Such an error makes the technique unsuitable for estimation of total carbon content of most commercial steels, which often have carbon levels below 0.1%. However, even in the DP steel for this study (0.1 wt.% carbon) it can be used to map carbon in regions with higher accumulation (such as in martensite with nonhomogeneous carbon content).more » « less
Lay Description Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) is a widely used approach for characterising the microstructure of various materials. However, it is difficult to accurately distinguish similar (BCC and BCT) phases in steels using standard EBSD software due to the small difference in crystal structure. One method to tackle the problem of phase distinction is to measure the tetragonality, or apparent ‘strain’ in the crystal lattice, of the phases. This can be done by comparing experimental EBSD patterns with simulated patterns via cross‐correlation techniques, to detect distortion away from a perfectly cubic crystal lattice. However, small errors in the determination of microscope geometry (the so‐called pattern or projection centre) can cause significant errors in tetragonality measurement and lead to erroneous results. This paper utilises a new approach for accurate pattern centre determination via a strain minimisation routine across a large number of grains in dual phase steels. Tetragonality maps are then produced and used to identify phase and estimate local carbon content. The technique is implemented using both simple kinetically simulated and more complex dynamically simulated patterns to determine their relative accuracy. Tetragonality maps, and subsequent phase maps, based on dynamically simulated patterns in a point‐by‐point and grain average comparison are found to consistently produce more precise and accurate results, with close to 90% accuracy for grain phase identification, when compared with an image‐quality identification method. The error in tetragonality measurements appears to be of the order of 1%, thus producing a commensurate error in carbon content estimation. Such an error makes an estimate of total carbon content particularly unsuitable for low carbon steels; although maps of local carbon content may still be revealing.
Application of the method developed in this paper will lead to better understanding of the complex microstructures of steels, and the potential to design microstructures that deliver higher strength and ductility for common applications, such as vehicle components.