Microstructure Sensitive Stochastic Finite Element Tools for Poly-crystalline Metals

Accelerated insertion of new high-performance materials, as envisioned by the Materials Genome Initiative and Integrated Computational Materials Engineering paradigm, necessitates a detailed understanding of the interrelated variability of microstructural features and resultant material performance. In this solicitation, MRL proposes to develop a process for incorporation of such mesoscale variability into a component-scale stochastic finite element framework using a combination of tailored experiments producing objective statistical microstructure descriptors and efficient spectral linkages to feed forward this information across relevant length scales. This framework will empower designers of both components and processing routes to explicitly account for likely deviations in material properties and work towards optimal design.