Integrated experimental–simulation analysis of stress and strain partitioning in multiphase alloys

The mechanical response of multiphase alloys is governed by the microscopic strain and stress partitioning behavior among microstructural constituents. However, due to limitations in the characterization of the partitioning that takes place at the submicron scale, microstructure optimization of such alloys is typically based on evaluating the averaged response, referring to, for example, macroscopic stress–strain curves. Here, a novel experimental–numerical methodology is introduced to strengthen the integrated understanding of the microstructure and mechanical properties of these alloys, enabling joint analyses of deformation-induced evolution of the microstructure, and the strain and stress distribution therein, down to submicron resolution. From the experiments, deformation-induced evolution of (i) the microstructure, and (ii) the local strain distribution are concurrently captured, employing in situ secondary electron imaging and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) (for the former), and microscopic-digital image correlation (for the latter). From the simulations, local strain as well as stress distributions are revealed, through 2-D full-field crystal plasticity (CP) simulations conducted with an advanced spectral solver suitable for heterogeneous materials. The simulated model is designed directly from the initial EBSD measurements, and the phase properties are obtained by additional inverse CP simulations of nanoindentation experiments carried out on the original microstructure. The experiments and simulations demonstrate good correlation in the proof-of-principle study conducted here on a martensite–ferrite dual-phase steel, and deviations are discussed in terms of limitations of the techniques involved. Overall, the presented integrated computational materials engineering approach provides a vast amount of well-correlated structural and mechanical data that enhance our understanding as well as the design capabilities of multiphase alloys.