Effect of microstructure on strain localization in a 7050 aluminum alloy: Comparison of experiments and modeling for various textures

Microstructure attributes are responsible for heterogeneous deformation and strain localization. In this study, the relation between residual strain fields and microstructure is examined and assessed by means of experiments and crystal plasticity modeling. The microstructure of rolled aluminum alloys (AA) in the 7050-T7451 condition was experimentally obtained with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis along the rolling direction (L-T orientation), across the rolling direction (T-L orientation), and transverse to the rolling direction (T-S orientation). Each of these sections was also patterned using a novel microstamping procedure, to allow for strain mapping by digital image correlation (DIC). The measured microstructures were in turn used as input of an elasto-viscoplastic crystal plasticity formulation based on fast Fourier transforms (EVP-FFT). Comparisons between the strain maps obtained experimentally by the concurrent DIC-EBSD method and the EVP-FFT simulations were made for the three sections, corresponding to the initial textures. The comparisons showed that the predicted levels of strain concentration were reasonable for all three specimens from a statistical perspective, which is important to properly describe and predict the strains within an ensemble of components; however the spatial match with the actual strain fields needs improvement.