Cyclic softening based on dislocation annihilation at sub-cell boundary for SA333 Grade-6 C-Mn steel

In this work, the response of SA333 Grade-6 C-Mn steel subjected to uniaxial and in-phase biaxial tension–torsion cyclic loading is experimented and an attempt is made to model the material behaviour. Experimentally observed cyclic softening is modelled based on 'dislocation annihilation at low angle grain boundary', while Ohno–Wang kinematic hardening rule is used to simulate the stress–strain hysteresis loops. The relevant material parameters are extracted from the appropriate experimental results and metallurgical investigations. The material model is plugged as user material subroutine into ABAQUS FE platform to simulate pre-saturation low cycle fatigue loops with cyclic softening and other cyclic plastic behaviour under prescribed loading. The stress–strain hysteresis loops and peak stress with cycles were compared with the experimental results and good agreements between experimental and simulated results validated the material model.