Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A

, Volume 39, Issue 5, pp 1109–1117 | Cite as

Determination of Critical Microstructural Features in an Austenitic Stainless Steel Using Image-Based Finite Element Modeling

Article
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Abstract

Two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) image-based finite element (FE) modeling and scientific visualization techniques were employed to determine the critical microstructural features that control mechanical behavior in a commercial austenitic stainless steel, AL-6XN. Two-dimensional FE meshes were generated using microstructural images obtained from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and three-dimensional meshes were generated from microstructural reconstructions created using serial-sectioning techniques and EBSD. Image-based FE simulations were run using anisotropic elasticity. The 2-D simulations revealed that higher local elastic stresses are produced near grain boundaries than at grain interiors for various loading conditions. Under normal uniaxial loading conditions, higher stresses were observed at faceted grain boundaries, particularly those with a Σ = 3 coincident site lattice misorientation. Under simple shear loading conditions, however, the highest stresses were observed at general high-angle grain boundaries. In the 3-D simulations, similar relationships held, with the highest elastic stresses observed at the junction between two Σ3 boundaries under normal uniaxial loading and slightly lower elastic stresses at these junctions under simple shear loading. In the 3-D models, high elastic stresses were associated only with grain boundaries and triple junctions and showed little to no correlation with grain size or morphology.

Keywords

Austenite Simple Shear Triple Junction Finite Element Mesh Coincident Site Lattice 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Office of Naval Research under the Design of Naval Steel program, Contract No. N0001404WX20553. The authors express their gratitude for the significant efforts of Mr. L. Levenberry, Mr. J. Flores, and Miss J. Woods in the serial sectioning and image processing work. Mr. J.F. Bingert conducted the EBSD measurements for the 2-D cases. The work of KAJ was supported by an NSF Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions/Tribal Colleges and Universities (HBCU/MI/TCU) Internship Program at NRL. Computational resources for the FE analyses were provided through the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization program.

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Copyright information

© The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Multifunctional Materials Group, Naval Research LaboratoryWashingtonUSA
  2. 2.Department of Mathematical SciencesClark Atlanta UniversityAtlantaUSA

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