Coupling Diffraction Contrast Tomography with the Finite Element Method

This paper explains how to turn full three dimensional (3D) experimental grain maps into a finite elements (FE) mesh suitable for mechanical analysis. Two examples from diffraction contrast tomography characterizations are presented. Deformation of a pure titanium sample with 1400 grains is computed using elastic anisotropy and accurate boundary conditions allows to correctly capture the grain to grain elastic strain variations. In the second example a significantly large zone of a polycrystalline Al-Li sample is meshed and computed using elastoplastic finite strain calculation. Mean lattice reorientations and intra-grain lattice orientation spread are obtained as a function of deformation.