Mechanism-Based Theories of Strengthening and Hardening for Alloy Design and Processing

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

Mechanism-Based Theories of Strengthening and Hardening for Alloy Design and Processing We plan to conduct a systematic study of precipitate hardening of aluminum alloys based on mechanism-based strain gradient (MSG) plasticity. A unit-cell model will be used to represent dispersed particles in an aluminum matrix. The size of the particle ranges from a tenth of a micron to tens of microns. The size of the representative cell is determined by the particle size and volume fraction. A computer code based on finite element methods for MSG plasticity will be developed to predict macroscopic mechanical properties as particle size, shape and distribution are varied at a fixed volume fraction. This code will be validated by benchmark analytical solutions associated with void growth in aluminum. The predictions will be compared to existing experimental data and tested by further experiments to be conducted in ALCOA.***