Topology of the Deformation of a Non-uniform Grain Structure

Abstract

The study of changes in the amount of grain boundary surface (or edge) as a function of plastic strain is important in the design of metallic materials. The quantitative expression of these changes is usually made assuming idealised and uniform grain structures. In this work we develop a method for treating a distribution of grain sizes and shapes, and demonstrate that this modification in fact has little effect on the evolution of grain parameters during plastic deformation.