A Multiscale Model for Material Systems with Hierarchical Microstructure using Generalized Method of Cells (GMC)

A new class of materials, called hierarchical materials, characterized by microstructure rich in features with different length scale, showing revolutionary properties, has emerged recently in multiple application areas, especially in the additivenbsp;manufactured metals and alloys. Similarly, recent advancement innbsp;process control abilities and novel manufacturing technologies have demonstrated great potential to tailor microstructural evolution. Together these two recent developments offer ability to derive hierarchical materials with tailored microstructure; a promising pathway to engineer/design materials with remarkable properties.nbsp;The lack of microstructure informed computational modelnbsp;to serve as material/component design tools is a critical gap in the field that the proposed research is intend to fill.In this Phase I proposal, we propose a computational model to predict mechanical properties of metals and alloys with hierarchical microstructure using generalized method of cells (GMC) on NASArsquo;s FEAMAC/GMC platform. nbsp;The proposed building of multiscale model involves two major innovations: 1) an advancement of the crystal plasticity based constitutive modeling framework from its current limited ability to model simple microstructure consisting of single crystal, poly-crystal and/or precipitation hardened metal alloys to hierarchical microstructure that consists of microstructural features of various length scales; a transformational step in the field of elastic-plastic constitutive modeling topic area, and 2) two new testing methods for characterizing elastic-plastic mechanical properties at microstructural length scales; a transformational step in the mechanical testing of materials that could enrich the multiscale model development and validation. In addition, proposed Phase I projectnbsp;extends the application of FEAMAC/GMC multiscale framework to a very different class of materials from its traditional composites and ceramics based material systems applications