Correlation of diffraction peak broadening to crystal strengthening in finite element simulations

Trends in the evolution of the distributions of crystal slip system strength and lattice strain were collected from finite element simulations of tensile loading of polycrystals. The loading programmes replicated physical experiments on two metallic alloys (AA5182 aluminum and AL6XN stainless steel) in which Bragg peaks were measured by neutron diffraction. Correlations between the broadening of the Bragg peaks and the evolution of slip system strength are demonstrated.