Microstructure-based modelling of multiphase materials and complex structures

Micromechanical approaches are frequently employed to monitor local and global field quantities and their evolution under varying mechanical and/or thermal loading scenarios. In this contribution, an overview on important methods is given that are currently used to gain insight into the deformational and failure behaviour of multiphase materials and complex structures. First, techniques to represent material microstructures are reviewed. It is common to either digitise images of real microstructures or generate virtual 2D or 3D microstructures using automated procedures (e.g. Voronoï tessellation) for grain generation and colouring algorithms for phase assignment. While the former method allows to capture exactly all features of the microstructure at hand with respect to its morphological and topological features, the latter method opens up the possibility for parametric studies with respect to the influence of individual microstructure features on the local and global stress and strain response. Several applications of these approaches are presented, comprising low and high strain behaviour of multiphase steels, failure and fracture behaviour of multiphase materials and the evolution of surface roughening of the aluminium top metallisation of semiconductor devices.