Biaxial deformation behaviour of duplex stainless steels: Experiments and crystal plasticity based stress predictions

Biaxial tensile tests are performed on two phase duplex stainless steel using a newly developed multiaxial testing rig integrated with a digital image correlation mapping facility. A cruciform-shaped specimen geometry is subjected to equibiaxial tensile (EBT) loading, and the load–strain response is captured. Unlike uniaxial tensile testing, a well-defined gauge area is absent in biaxial specimens; hence, stress cannot be estimated directly. Finite element analysis is used to calculate the stress state. The phenomenological finite element model failed to capture the inherent anisotropy of the material; hence, a crystal plasticity finite element based method is used to estimate the stresses. It is observed that the 0.2% proof stress increased, but the strain to failure remained constant in comparison with uniaxial tensile properties. The work hardening behaviour is isotropic similar to that observed during uniaxial testing. The goss and rotated goss orientations in austenite accommodated most of the strain along RD and TD, respectively. During EBT, the change in austenite and ferrite textures is minimal and similar to their single phase counterparts reported in the literature. The EBT test results indicate that the influence of micromechanical interactions between the phases on the work hardening behaviour and texture evolution is weak.