Finite Element Implementation of a Self‐Consistent Polycrystal Plasticity Model: Application to a‐Uranium

We present an improved implementation of the viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) polycrystalline model in an implicit finite element (FE) framework, which accounts for a dislocation-based hardening law for multiple slip and twinning modes at the micro-scale crystal level. The model is applied to simulate at the macro-scale the highly anisotropic mechanical response of wrought α-uranium. In doing this, a finite element integration point is considered as a polycrystalline material point, whose meso-scale mechanical response is obtained by the meanfield VPSC homogenization scheme. Simple compression, simple tension, and simple shear tests on polycrystalline wrought uranium are used to demonstrate the accuracy of the implemented model.