A Comparison of Statistically Equivalent and Realistic Microstructural Representative Volume Elements for Crystal Plasticity Models

Abstract

Two methods used to construct a microstructural representative volume element (RVE) were evaluated for their accuracy when used in a crystal plasticity-based finite element (CP-FE) model. The RVE-based CP-FE model has been shown to accurately predict the complete tensile stress–strain response of a Ti–6Al–4V alloy manufactured by laser powder bed fusion. Each method utilized a different image-based technique to create a three-dimensional (3D) RVE from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) images. The first method, referred to as the realistic RVE (R-RVE), reconstructed a physical 3D microstructure of the alloy from a series of parallel EBSD images obtained using serial-sectioning (or slici..