Ensemble averaging stress–strain fields in polycrystalline aggregates with a constrained surface microstructure – Part 2: crystal plasticity

The effect of three-dimensional (3D) grain morphology on the deformation at a free surface in polycrystalline aggregates is investigated by means of a large-scale finite element and statistical approach. For a given two-dimensional surface at z = 0 containing 39 grains with given crystal orientations, eight 3D random polycrystalline aggregates are constructed having different 3D grain shapes and orientations except at z = 0, based on an original 3D image analysis procedure. They are subjected to overall tensile loading conditions. The continuum crystal plasticity framework is adopted and the resulting plastic strain fields at the free surface z = 0 are analyzed. Ensemble average and variance maps of the plastic strain field at the observed free surface are computed. In the case of elastoplastic copper grains, fluctuations ranging between 2% and 80% are found in the equivalent plastic slip level at a given material point of the observed surface from one realization of the microstructure to another. The obtained fields are compared to the prediction based on the associated columnar grain microstructure, often used in the literature.