Validation of a multi-scale model for shear deformation of an aluminium sheet alloy

Aluminium is a potential light weight alternative to steel for deep drawn sheet components, but generally does not compare well to steels in terms of formability. Research in polycrystalline plasticity indicates applying shear to rolled fcc alloys improves their deep drawability by favourably modifying their crystallographic texture. Such processing could be realised industrially by cold asymmetric rolling (ASR), but in order to gain detailed understanding of the influence of process parameters on the evolution and through thickness homogeneity of the texture a validated full field multi-scale model of the process is required. This study examines the ability of a hierarchical multi-scale approach to predict evolved textures for aluminium sheet subjected to a mechanical test exhibiting a deformation mode relevant for ASR, namely simple shear. The homogeneity of the deformation field is assessed with full field strain measurement by digital image correlation, and macrotexture is measured by x-ray diffraction. The discrepancies are discussed and further work to validate the modelling approach for simulation of texture evolution in the ASR process is briefly outlined.status: publishe