Tracking correlations between mechanical response and microstructure in three-dimensional reconstructions of a commercial stainless steel

A three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction of the microstructure of an austenitic stainless steel, incorporating experimentally measured spatial and crystallographic data, was input into 3-D finite element simulations of the mechanical response of the microstructure. Visualizations in two and three dimensions were used for qualitative analyses of the simulation results. Subsequently, quantitative image-based data mining and warehousing techniques were employed to determine correlations between mechanical behavior and microstructure, and to identify artifacts resulting from boundary conditions.