Indentation Pileup Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy: Experiments and Nonlocal Crystal Plasticity Finite Element Simulations

This study reports on the indentation pileup behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Berkovich nanoindentation was performed on a specimen with equiaxed microstructure. The indented area was characterized by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) to obtain the indented grain orientations. Surface topographies of several indents were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The pileup patterns on the indented surfaces show significant orientation dependence. Corresponding nonlocal crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) simulations were carried out to predict the pileup patterns. Analysis of the cumulative shear strain distributions and evolutions for different slip systems around the indents found that the pileups are mainly caused by prismatic slip. The pileup patterns evolve with the loading and unloading process, and the change in pileup height due to the elastic recovery at unloading stage is significant. The density distributions of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) around the indent were predicted. Simulation of nanoindentation on a tricrystal model was performed.