Impact of surface roughness on the formation of necking instabilities in additive manufactured porous metal plates subjected to dynamic plane strain stretching

This paper investigates the influence of surface roughness on multiple necking formation in additive manufactured porous ductile plates subjected to dynamic plane strain stretching. For this purpose, we have developed a computational model in ABAQUS/Explicit which includes surface texture and discrete voids measured from 3D-printed metallic specimens using optical profilometry and X-ray tomography analysis, respectively. The mechanical behavior of the material is described using an elastic–plastic constitutive model, with yielding defined by the isotropic von Mises criterion, an associated flow rule, and a power-law function for the yield stress evolution which depends on plastic strain, plastic strain rate, and temperature. The finite element calculations have been conducted across a broad range of strain rates, from $5000{\text{s}}^{-1}$ to $50000{\text{s}}^{-1}$, to explore the interactions among inertia, surface roughness, and porosity in determining the necking pattern that emerges in the plates at large strains. The finite element results show that surface roughness induces perturbations in the deformation field of the specimen, which lead to early necking localization, while the location and number of necks formed are primarily controlled by the porous microstructure and the loading rate. The results for the neck spacing have shown quantitative agreement with the analytical stability analysis predictions and the unit-cell finite element calculations reported by Rodríguez-Martínez et al. [1]. Moreover, integrating discrete voids into simulations that already account for surface roughness results in a minor reduction in necking strain: surface roughness and porosity demonstrate similar quantitative impacts on necking ductility, which is primarily influenced by inertia effects at the highest strain rates studied. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper presents the first calculations that explore dynamic plastic localization in additive manufactured metals, incorporating actual surface roughness and explicit void representation derived from experimental measurements. This work marks progress in the analysis of 3D-printed structures under impact loading, aiming to understand and predict the mechanics influencing their energy absorption capacity at high strain rates.