Application of crystal plasticity to an austenitic stainless steel

The visco-plastic self-consistent (VPSC) model is applied to a 304 austenitic stainless-steel sheet sample to investigate its suitability as a constitutive model for sheet metal forming simulations. The factors to which the model prediction is sensitive are explored. In particular, the influence of the textures obtained at three different depths on the in-plane variation of the r-value (Lankford coefficient) and the yield stress is investigated. Then, the grain number sensitivity in the representative volume element is analyzed. Moreover, the influence of the linearization scheme for the crystal constitutive power law on the simulation result is discussed. For simulation, discrete crystallographic orientation distributions are calculated from the pole figures obtained at different depths. Several mechanical experiments are conducted, namely, uniaxial tension, in-plane biaxial and the bulge tests. The mechanical response of the material is simulated using the VPSC model and compared with the model predictions.