Effect of the grain shape on the q-value evolution of steel sheets

Abstract

Two polycrystalline plasticity models, namely the ALAMEL model and the viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) model were used to study the effect of the grain shape on the evolution of plastic anisotropy. The latter was characterized by the q-value in this paper. The two models both predict the evolution of grain shape and texture and then can predict the effect of the initial grain shape on the texture. The final anisotropy of the materials was also assessed with the help of these models. Data of tensile tests in three directions for three low carbon steel sheets with either equiaxed or a pancake grain shape were used to evaluate the model predictions. Both models give the same trend of the grain shape effect on the evolution of the q-values. Results demonstrate that the effect of the grain shape can be clearly reflected in the x-value distribution as defined and discussed in this paper. But it is not so obvious in the predicted textures for the investigated three materials according to both models.