Image-based crystal plasticity FE framework for microstructure dependent properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloys

In this paper, micromechanical crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) simulations of the response of virtual/synthetic alpha-beta Ti-6V-4Al polycrystalline microstructures are carried out to quantify the effect of the material's microstructure on mechanical properties. The image-based CPFEM analysis begins with characterization of the morphological and crystallographic features of the material at the scale of the polycrystalline microstructure. Statistically equivalent representative 3D polycrystalline microstructures are generated from the microstructural characterization data and subsequently discretized into finite element meshes for the CPFEM analysis. Using a validated computational analysis tool, sensitivity studies are performed to develop a quantitative understanding of how individual microstructural parameters affect the overall mechanical response properties of the alloy. Functional forms of the dependencies are proposed that connect the material's microstructural features to properties like yield strength response, constant strain rate response and creep response. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.