Mechanism-based crystal plasticity modeling of twin boundary migration in nanotwinned face-centered-cubic metals

Nanotwinned (nt) metals are an important subset of nanostructured materials because they exhibit impressive strength and ductility. Several recent investigations on nt face-centered-cubic (FCC) metals indicate that their macroscopic responses emerge from complex microscopic mechanisms that are dominated by dislocation–TB interactions. Under applied stimulus, nt microstructures evolve through migration of twin boundaries (TBs) that may have implications on the material strength and stability. This work focuses on modeling TB migration within finite element framework in an explicit manner and studying its effects on the micromechanics of twinned FCC metals under quasi-static loading conditions. The theoretical setting is developed using three-dimensional single crystal plasticity as a basis wherein the plastic slip on the {111}〈1¯10〉 slip systems in an FCC crystal structure is modeled as visco-plastic behavior. Owing to their governing role, twins are modeled as discrete lamellas with full crystallographic anisotropy. To model TB migration, an additional visco-plastic slip-law for twinning partial systems ({111}〈112¯〉) based on the nucleation and motion of twin partial dislocations is introduced. This size-dependent constitutive law is presumed to prevail in the vicinity of the TB and naturally facilitates TB migration when combined with a twinning condition that is based on the accrual of the necessary shear strain. The constitutive development is implemented within a finite element framework through a User Material (UMAT) facility within ABAQUS/STANDARD®ABAQUS/STANDARD®. Detailed micromechanics simulations on model microstructures involving single-grained and polycrystalline topologies are presented.