On the thermomechanical deformation behavior of duplex-type materials

Two-phase duplex-type materials possess microstructures containing roughly the same amounts of the constituent phases whose grains form interwoven networks. Duplex stainless steels are typical representatives of this material group. In these steels the constituent phases austenite and ferrite have different coefficients of thermal expansion. On pure thermal loading or thermomechanical loading the yield strength of the phases can be exceeded. Specimens of a forged duplex steel with a uniaxially anisotropic micro-structure deform irreversibly even under pure thermal cycling conditions with a monotonic accumulation of strain. The results of a systematic finite element based micromechanical analysis of the thermomechanical deformation behavior of duplex steels are presented and discussed. The analysis is based on a quantitative characterization of both the real and model microstructures. Additionally, an extended constitutive material law for the thermomechanical loading of the duplex steel is proposed. For dual-phase materials this description incorporates an additional thermomechanical strain increment as a very important contribution to the total strain increment. Both the micromechanical model and the analytical model are used to analyse the experimental findings from dilatometer tests. The micromechanical approach allows the evolution of the irreversible strains in the two phases generated in a thermal cycle to be modeled. It is shown that the matrix-phase is always more deformed than the inclusion-phase, irrespective of which of the two phases (austenite or ferrite) forms the matrix. This prediction is confirmed by electron microscopic observations of a thermally cycled duplex steel. Based on these results a mechanism driving the ratchet effect is proposed.