Mechanical modeling of macroscopic behavior for anisotropic and heterogeneous metal alloys

The present investigative work was focused on modeling the effect of through-thickness texture gradients on the global mechanical behavior of a rolled ferritic stainless steel sheet. The material was experimentally characterized according to the needs of the analysis. First, a homogeneous rolled sheet was analytically described, based on Hill’s formalism of generalized materials. Then, a heterogeneous sheet was analyzed through two analytic approaches. The predictive capability of the resulting approaches was also proven in relation to the choice of the pseudo-anisotropic coefficients selected from fictitious materials. Finally, the application of a simple method, called continuum mechanics of textured polycrystals, taking into account crystallographic considerations, was adopted. As a result, this method was found to be an effective way to model the mechanical behavior of an anisotropic and heterogeneous sheet, replicating the evolution of experimental yield stress and plastic strain ratio either in terms of evolution or in those of level values. An attempt to estimate the impact of low-texture gradients on the heterogeneity of any industrial metal sheet is also made.