Distribution of stress triaxiality in face-centered cubic polycrystals under equibiaxial loading

The distribution of stress triaxiality within a three-dimensional polycrystalline microstructure of face-centered cubic metal subjected to equibiaxial tension is analyzed using a rate-dependent crystal plasticity model. It is found that the locations of high stress triaxiality consistently correspond to a grain boundary between a hard and soft grain and that the high stress triaxiality is always found to reside on the soft grain side of the boundary.