Influence of thermal recovery on predictions of the residual mechanical state during melting and solidification

A thermomechanically consistent Eulerian plasticity model with work hardening is adopted for studying the residual mechanical state resulting from loading at elevated temperatures. The isotropic plasticity model includes the standard effect of thermal softening as well as specific modeling of thermal recovery. The model parameters and functions were calibrated to data for an austenitic stainless steel 316L. The model is applied in two numerical examples: a case of uniaxial tension and a circular disk that is exposed to a temperature load. The influence of thermal recovery is examined for each example by comparing the response of the complete model with thermal recovery to that when thermal recovery is omitted. The results of the second example indicate the importance of modeling thermal recovery for accurate prediction of residual stresses for problems dealing with melting and solidification.