Non–Isothermal Shear Band Localization in Crystal Plasticity

We analyze the formation of shear bands in plastically deforming single crystals under non-isothermal quasi-static loading conditions. A key feature of the present work is to motivate the constitutive coupled thermomechanical equations for the slip resistance and the slip evolution by micromechanical investigations of defects in crystals. Here, we put particular emphasis on comparative investigations of hardening–softening effects of crystals under non-isothermal conditions, including a quantification of the latent energy storage. Furthermore, we analyze a numerical solution algorithm for the coupled thermomechanical problem and we test the performance on a typical benchmark example of finite-strain single-crystal thermoplasticity: the localization of deformation into a shear band for the case of a rectangular strip. Experimental evidence for this problem is well documented. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)