A theoretical investigation of the contribution of texture and dislocationsheets on strain path change effects in BCC metals

Softening/hardening effects are often observed in BCC polycrystals during c hanging strain paths. They can lead to premature failure of the material. B oth the anisotropy due to microstructural features as well as due to the de velopment of preferred crystallographic orientations are considered to be r esponsible for these effects. This paper addresses a methodology to incorpo rate cells and cell blocks at the grain scale in a full-constraints Taylor model. This allows the coupling of the full anisotropy due to basic slip pr ocesses, crystallographic texture and microstructure. It is demonstrated th at the model is capable of simulating the complex softening/hardening effec ts during changing strain paths. It is shown that the cross effect and the Bauschinger effect are mainly caused by microstructural features and not by textural effects.