Crystal Plasticity Modeling of the Dynamic Behavior of Magnesium Alloy, WE43-T5, Plate

Understanding the high strain rate behavior of Mg alloys is of interest for applications ranging from armor to automobile crash worthiness. Toward this end, the viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) polycrystal plasticity code, including the recently developed twinning-detwinning (TDT) model, is used to describe the homogeneous plastic flow of the rare earth element containing Mg alloy, WE43-T5, plate. The model accounts for the presence of an initial, moderate texture and its evolution as during deformation. It reveals that the moderate texture is responsible for the difference between the plate through-thickness and in-plane behaviors. The model also helps to reconcile why the in-plane response is nearly isotropic, despite the presence of orthotropic (not radially symmetric) texture. Note that a single set of parameters was used to fit the entire set of results, i.e. it is a model, which can describe all of the observed strength, strain, and strain hardening anisotropies and asymmetries.