Crystal Plasticity Finite-element Simulation of Non-uniform Deformation Behavior at Grain Level of Ultralow Carbon Steel

In this study, deformation behaviors at the grain level of coarse-grained ultralow carbon steel subjected to uniaxial tension and simple shear were simulated by using a crystal plasticity finite-element method. Heterogeneity of strain distributions appeared at the early stage and remained almost unchanged in the following deformation. Localized strain bands occurred at the grain level, but the directions of the bands depended on the deformation mode. These trends agreed well with experimental results reported in a previous paper [Hama et al., ISIJ Int., 61 (2021), 1971]. The mechanisms that the direction of the localized strain bands depended on the deformation mode were studied on the basis of the slip activities. The activities of slip systems roughly followed the Schmid factor, and the slip directions of the most active slip systems were consistent with the directions of localized strain bands, suggesting that the direction of localized strain bands were determined primarily by the Schmid factor.