ON THE MULTISCALE MECHANICS OF DEFORMATION, STABILITY AND DAMAGE IN MAGNESIUM

PADMEYA PRASHANT INDURKAR

Publication

ON THE MULTISCALE MECHANICS OF DEFORMATION, STABILITY AND DAMAGE IN MAGNESIUM

PADMEYA PRASHANT INDURKAR

Abstract

Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys are promising candidates for structural applications owing to their high power-to-weight ratio. The strength of these low symmetry HCP materials is strongly influenced by their microstructure, texture, and stress state, resulting in persistence of high plastic anisotropy and asymmetry at the polycrystalline scales. The first part of this thesis employs crystal plasticity finite element modeling (CPFEM) to study the influence of textural variability on the responses of polycrystalline Mg. The second part develops a multi-surface plasticity model (MSM), which is well calibrated with the data generated from the finer-scale CPFEM representation. The validated MSM is applied to efficiently assess plastic flow in notched specimens, and to probe micromechanics of void growth. Application of the MSM in conjunction with the CPFEM enables a multiscale perspective of deformation and damage evolution in Mg. Extended investigations along this path would guide the development of lightweight damage-tolerant Mg alloys.