Incompatibility stresses at grain boundaries in Ni bicrystalline micropillars analyzed by an anisotropic model and slip activity

Incompatibility stresses can develop in bicrystals due to material elastic and plastic anisotropies owing to different crystal orientations separated by grain boundaries. Here, these stresses are investigated by combining experimental and theoretical studies on 10 μm diameter Ni bicrystalline micropillars. Throughout stepwise compression tests, slip traces are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy to identify the active slip planes and directions in both crystals. An analytical model is presented accounting for the effects of heterogeneous elasticity coupled to heterogeneous plasticity on the internal mechanical fields. This model provides explicit expressions of stresses in both crystals considering experimentally observed non-equal crystal volume fractions and inclined grain boundaries. It is used to predict the resolved shear stresses on the possible slip systems in each crystal. The predictions of the onset of plasticity as given by the present model in pure elasticity are compared with those given by the classical Schmid's law. In contrast with Schmid's law, the predictions of the analytical model are in full agreement with the experimental observations regarding the most highly stressed crystal and active slip systems. The effects of plastic incompatibilities are also considered in addition to the elastic ones throughout the model. The analysis shows that elastic/plastic coupling incompatibilities together with different crystal volume fractions have significant effects on the slip system activation process.