On the accuracy of self-consistent elasticity formulations for directionally solidified polycrystal aggregates

In this work, the elastic properties of directionally solidified (DS) polycrystal aggregates are investigated through a combination of analytical and numerical approaches. The effects of crystallographic misorientations and grain aspect ratios of aggregates with ellipsoidal shaped grains are first examined following a self-consistent approach. Finite element techniques are then used to examine the effects of grain size on the elastic properties of the aggregate and to assess the accuracy of the self-consistent predictions. To that purpose, a finite element procedure is presented to generate numerically realistic 3D DS microstructures from electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) lattice orientation measurements on an arbitrary cross-section of a DS material. The elastic stiffnesses predicted numerically and analytically are then compared with experimental data on a Ni-base DS alloy tested uniaxially along arbitrary orientations. The general trend predicted analytically was found to be consistent with the numerical and experimental results. Furthermore, an increase in the misorientation between the [0 0 1] axis of each DS grain with respect to the grain growth direction was found to decrease the elastic anisotropy of the DS material.