An implicit integration scheme with consistent tangent modulus for Leblond’s model of transformation-induced plasticity in steels

Abstract

Thermomechanical treatments involving solid-state phase transformations play an important role for the manufacturing of functional and reliable components in many engineering applications. Accordingly, numerical investigation and optimization of such processes require considering thermoelastoplasticity under the influence of ongoing transformations and in particular the impact of transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP). While a number of elaborate plasticity models have been proposed for the description of TRIP, none of them seem to have received much prevalence in applications due to their complexity or hard to determine model parameters. Instead, the overwhelming majority of applied research either relies on simplistic formulations dating back to early phenomenological approaches or neglects TRIP altogether. In this work, we therefore provide an accessible, straightforward and easy-to-implement solution scheme for the TRIP model proposed by Leblond et al. which, despite being widely recognized, is hardly ever employed in full form. Specifically, we employ implicit backward-Euler integration and an elastic–plastic operator split approach to update the stresses in order to obtain a simple and concise algorithm for which we then derive the corresponding consistent tangent modulus. Furthermore, the work contains an application of the solution scheme to a symmetrically cooled plate and an in-depth discussion of the influence of TRIP by means of this tractable numerical example. Specifically, we highlight the discrepancies arising in transient and residual stresses and strains compared to the conventional J2-plasticity approach where the phase transformation is accounted for merely by adapting the yield strength of the compound.