Unraveling the effect of pulse electric current treatment on the strain hardening rate mechanism of lean duplex stainless steel through finite element micromechanical modeling

The dual-phase structure of lean duplex stainless steel (LDSS) is highly responsive to external stimuli such as pulsed electric current (PEC), which can induced microstructure adjustments and thereby optimize its mechanical performance. This study aims to understand the mechanisms responsible for the changes in strain-hardening behavior of LDSS after PEC treatment using finite element (FE) micromechanical modeling. Stress–flow curves of individual microconstituents were determined using the recently developed Micromechanical Adaptive Iteration Algorithm, which was modified to account for strain-induced martensitic (SIM) transformation. The FE modeling results captured trends consistent with experimental observations reported in the literature, demonstrating the capability of the approach to investigate the effects of SIM transformation on LDSS deformation behavior. This modeling framework offers valuable insights for the design of PEC-assisted thermomechanical processing and provides a foundation for tailoring microstructures in advanced duplex steels.