Microstructure-Based Modeling and Estimation of Mechanical Properties of High-Carbon Steel

Herein, attempts are made to estimate the mechanical properties using microstructure-based finite element (FE) modeling and validate these results with the experimental results. The two high-carbon steel specimens are hot-rolled and air-cooled to develop ferrite–pearlite microstructures. Different characterizations are utilized to observe microstructures as well as Vickers hardness and tensile tests are carried out to determine the mechanical properties. Two high-resolution scanning electron micrographs are chosen for representative volume element-based FE analyses for modeling the mechanical behavior of ferrite–cementite microstructure. Object-oriented finite elements (OOF2) and Abaqus FEA 6.14 software are used to estimate the elastic and elastoplastic behavior assuming plane stress conditions. The correlation between cementite lamellae orientation and the predicted elastoplastic properties is investigated and compared with the experimental results. The influence of image size and mesh size on the predicted true stress–true strain behavior is discussed. The hard and brittle cementite lamellae face maximum stress while the softer ferrite matrix experiences maximum strain. It is found that strain accumulation is maximum at the interfaces of ferrite and cementite. These findings are further validated by the microvoid and crack initiation spots in the fracture surface and subsurface micrographs of broken tensile specimens.