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Since the multi-scale finite element analysis (FEA) requires large computation time, development of the parallel computing technique for the multi-scale analysis is inevitable. A parallel elastic/crystalline viscoplastic FEA code based on a crystallographic homogenization method has been developed using PC cluster. The homogenization scheme is introduced to compute macro-continuum plastic deformations and material properties by considering a polycrystal texture. Since the dynamic explicit method is applied to this method, the analysis using micro crystal structures computes the homogenized stresses in parallel based on domain partitioning of macro-continuum without solving simultaneous linear equations. The micro-structure is defined by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and the Electron Back Scan Diffraction (EBSD) measurement based crystal orientations. In order to improve parallel performance of elastoplasticity analysis, which dynamically and partially increases computational costs during the analysis, a dynamic workload balancing technique is introduced to the parallel analysis. The technique, which is an automatic task distribution method, is realized by adaptation of subdomain size for macro-continuum to maintain the computational load balancing among cluster nodes. The analysis code is applied to estimate the polycrystalline sheet metal formability. © 2005 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystallographic texture evolution induced by plastic deformation in the sheet metal forming process has a great influence on its formability. In the present study, a dynamic explicit finite element (FE) analysis code is newly developed by introducing a crystallographic homogenization method to estimate the polycrystalline sheet metal formability, such as the extreme thinning and “earing.” This code can predict the plastic deformation induced texture evolution at the micro scale and the plastic anisotropy at the macro scale, simultaneously. This multi-scale analysis can couple the microscopic crystal plasticity inhomogeneous deformation with the macroscopic continuum deformation. In this homogenization process, the stress at the macro scale is defined by the volume average of those of the corresponding microscopic crystal aggregations in satisfying the equation of motion and compatibility condition in the micro scale “unit cell,” where the periodicity of deformation is satisfied. This homogenization algorithm is implemented in the conventional dynamic explicit finite element code by employing the updated Lagrangian formulation and the rate type elastic/viscoplastic constitutive equation. At first, it has been confirmed through a texture evolution analyses in cases of typical deformation modes that Taylor’s “constant strain homogenization algorithm” yields extreme concentration toward the preferred crystal orientations compared with our homogenization one. Second, we study the plastic anisotropy effects on “earing” in the hemispherical cup deep drawing process of pure ferrite phase sheet metal. By the comparison of analytical results with those of Taylor’s assumption, conclusions are drawn that the present newly developed dynamic explicit crystallographic homogenization FEM shows more reasonable prediction of plastic deformation induced texture evolution and plastic anisotropy at the macro scale. © 2004 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]