Image-based modeling of the response of experimental 3D microstructures to mechanical loading

A three-dimensional (3D) spatial and crystallographic reconstruction of an austenitic steel microstructure was generated using optical microscopy, serial sectioning, and electron backscatter diffraction, and was incorporated into an image-based finite element model to simulate the mesoscale mechanical response of the real microstructure. The effects of crystallographic orientation and the interactions between applied loads, constraints, and microstructure are discussed. Advanced 3D visualization techniques are used to identify critical microstructural features at which the onset of plasticity, failure and fracture are predicted to occur.