In-grain microplasticity and intergranular microdamage in polycrystalline hexagonal-structure ceramics subjected to a sequence of dynamic compression and tension are studied computationally using the Voronoi polycrystal model, by which the topological heterogeneity and material anisotropy of the crystals are simulated explicitly. The constitutive modeling considers crystal plasticity by basal slip, intergranular shear damage during compression, and intergranular mode-I cracking during tension. The model parameters are calibrated with the available shock compression and spall strength data on polycrystalline ␣-6H silicon carbide. The numerical results show that microplasticity is a more plausible micromechanism for the inelastic response of the material under shock compression. On the other hand, the spallation behavior of the shocked material can be well predicted by intergranular mode-I microcracking during load reversal from dynamic compression to tension. The failure process and the resulting spall strength are, however, affected strongly by the intensity of local release heterogeneity induced by heterogeneous microplasticity, and by the grain-boundary shear damage during compression.

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