Microscale deformation behaviour, plastic strain localisation and plastic instability of grain refined rheocast Al–7Si–0.3Mg alloy have been studied here, following micromechanical approach. Micromechanics based simulations have been performed by means of the two-dimensional representative volume element of the actual microstructure, using the popular finite element (FE) package ABAQUS. The molten alloy has been rheocast after grain refiner addition, using cooling slope, and comparison has been made with its conventional cast counterpart. Effect of grain size, shape and its orientation on microlevel stress/strain state of the material, before the final failure, has been predicted in the present study. Increasing uniformity in stress and strain distribution at the microscale has been evidenced with the increasing sphericity and volume fraction of the primary Al phase.
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