Micromechanical modeling of the elastic–viscoplastic behavior of polycrystalline steels

A self-consistent model developed to describe the elastic–viscoplastic behavior of heterogeneous materials is applied to low carbon steels to simulate tensile tests at various strain rates in the low temperature range. The choice of crystalline laws implemented in the model is discussed through the viscoplastic flow rule and several strain-hardening laws. Comparisons between three work-hardening models show that the account of dislocation annihilation improves the results on simulations at large strains. The evolution of the Lankford coefficients and texture development are also successfully simulated. Some microstructural aspects of deformation such as the stored energy and the evolution of the flow rates are discussed. By including the dislocation density on each slip system as internal variable, intragranular heterogeneities are underscored.