A comparative analysis of plastic strain localization in aluminum single crystals and polycrystalline grains

Plastic strain localization in single- and polycrystals of aluminum is investigated. A crystal plasticity formulation is introduced into the three-dimensional boundary-value problem solved numerically by ABAQUS. Three-dimensional polycrystalline microstructure generated by a step-by-step procedure is accounted for explicitly in calculations. Tension of single crystals with different orientations is simulated. The results are compared with those obtained for a polycrystalline microstructure, with the orientation of a single-crystalline grain in the center of the microstructure being varied. Plastic strain localization is shown to develop along active slip systems and to differ for single- and polycrystalline materials.