Mechanisms and rate of dislocation nucleation in aluminum-copper alloys near Guinier-Preston zones

IA Bryukhanov and AV Larin, JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 120, 235106 (2016).

DOI: 10.1063/1.4972473

This article is devoted to a molecular dynamics simulation study of partial dislocation loop nucleation with respect to its mechanism and rate, and its propagation process under high shear stress in aluminum- copper alloys. The mechanisms of dislocation nucleation near Guinier- Preston (GP) zones of various diameters and concentrations have been analyzed. Dislocation nucleation rates near plain GP Cu-zones with diameters of 3.5, 7.5, and 13.5 nm and at various concentrations have been calculated using the mean lifetime method with temperatures in range of 100 and 700 K. It has been found that depending on the temperature and applied stress, the dislocation can nucleate either from the edge, or from the plain area of a GP zone. The dislocation nucleation is preceded by a generation of defect clusters that are formed due to local opposite atomic shifts in two adjacent (111) planes by the half-length of a Burgers vector of a partial dislocation. The expansion of a partial dislocation loop can be accompanied by the formation of twins via a shift of the atoms in the internal region of the loop. The twin velocity along the direction of the partial dislocation Burgers vector inside the loop can achieve longitudinal sound speed. The speeds of the edge and screw segments of a partial dislocation loop as a function of a shear stress component along the Burgers vector have been estimated. The latter seems to be limited by the shear sound speed. Published by AIP Publishing.

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