Assessment of micro-indentation method in the characterization of DP600 behavior using a proposed martensite distribution parameter in FEM simulation approach

This work proposes a simulation approach to characterize the behavior of DP600 steel subjected to micro indentation tests. Axisymmetric and three-dimensional artificial RVEs were generated with statistical data from metallographic images. FEM simulations of the micro indentation tests used the Gurson model and Rodriguez-Gutierrez equation. There is proposed a new parameter called spherical radius to quantify the closeness of the hard particles to the indenter tip. The simulated 3D curves were compared with respect to a reference curve of DP600, obtaining relative errors below 20 percent. Results show that the hard particles near the indenter affect the stress, strain, and micro void fields by changing the indentation response behavior. The spherical radius allows capturing the effect of the hard particles closeness because when its value is low, or the hard particles are closer to the indenter tip, the relative error of the average curve decreases due to the hard particles are constraining the deformation caused by the indenter in the material.