Microstructure- and damage-nucleation-based crystal plasticity finite element modeling for the nucleation of multi-type voids during plastic deformation of Al alloys

During deformation of aluminum (Al) alloys, there are three kinds of voids being formed by distinct mechanisms, i.e., matrix-cracking voids (MCVs), particle-cracking voids (PCVs), and interface-debonding voids (IDVs), due to mesoscale heterogeneous deformation. The three kinds of void nucleation have different effects on the subsequent void growth, void coalescence, and ductile fracture of Al alloys. To determine the complex nucleation behavior of the three kinds of voids under mesoscale heterogeneous deformation, a microstructure- and damage-nucleation-based crystal plasticity finite element (MDN[sbnd]CPFE) model considering different nucleation mechanisms was established. To realize the MDN-CPFE modeling, the deformation and void nucleation of the matrix, particle, and their interface in Al alloys were described by a non-local dislocation density CP constitutive model and a local stored energy density criterion, an elastic constitutive model and a maximum principal stress criterion, and a cohesive zone model and fracture energy criterion, respectively. The developed MDN-CPFE model was validated by the nucleation locations and quantitative variations of the three kinds of voids in an in-situ tensile test. Using the developed model, the nucleation characteristics of the three kinds of voids during the small deformation of Al alloys were analyzed. It is found that PCVs are likely to nucleate within particles that are located at the deformation bands and with greater shape irregularity; IDVs are prone to nucleate at the interfaces around smaller particles in the deformation bands; MCVs tend to nucleate within grains with a higher Schmid factor and aspect ratio. The void area fractions (VAFs) of the three kinds of voids all evolve with an incubation stage and then followed by an exponentially increasing stage during deformation. The duration of the incubation stage for the three kinds of voids, designated by the nucleation strain, presents the following sequence: PCV < IDV < MCV; while, their VAFs and quantities present the opposite sequence. Additionally, the effects of the particle volume fraction and grain size on the nucleation strain, total VAF, and proportion of VAFs of the three kinds of voids were unraveled.