Modeling of the Size Effects on the Behavior of Metals in Microscale Deformation Processes

For the accurate analysis and design of microforming process, proper modeling of material behavior at the micro/mesoscale is necessary by considering the size effects. Two size effects are known to exist in metallic materials. One is the “grain size” effect, and the other is the “feature/specimen size” effect. This study investigated the feature/specimen size effect and introduced a scaling model which combined both feature/specimen and grain size effects. Predicted size effects were compared with three separate experiments obtained from previous research: a simple compression with a round specimen, a simple tension with a round specimen, and a simple tension in sheet metal. The predicted results had a very good agreement with the experiments. Quantification of the miniaturization effect has been achieved by introducing two parameters, $α$ and $β$⁠, which can be determined by the scaling parameter $n$⁠, to the Hall–Petch equation. The scaling model offers a simple way to model the size effect down to length scales of a couple of grains and to extend the use of continuum plasticity theories to micro/mesolength scales.