Computational analysis of short-range interactions between an edge dislocation and an array of equally-spaced identical shearable or non-shearable precipitates

TL;DR

This paper investigates how edge dislocations interact with arrays of precipitates, revealing how precipitate resistance influences dislocation behavior and local plastic strain distribution in alloys.

Contribution

It introduces a modified dislocation dynamics model to analyze short-range dislocation-precipitate interactions considering both shearable and non-shearable precipitates.

Findings

Higher precipitate resistance increases dislocation curvature during bypass.

Greater resistance results in reduced overall plastic deformation.

Non-shearable precipitates cause high plastic strain gradients at interfaces.

Abstract

The interaction between dislocations and precipitates plays an important role in the mechanical behavior of alloys. To provide more insight into the physics of this interaction, this research analyzes short-range interactions of an edge dislocation with an array of equally-spaced identical precipitates. We use a modified dislocation dynamics approach accounting for penetrable and impenetrable precipitates. This research quantifies the effects of precipitate resistance on the geometry of the dislocation-precipitation interaction and the local distribution of plastic strain near a precipitate. The results show that a precipitate with a higher resistance causes an increase in the maximum value of dislocation curvature during the bypass. In addition, a higher level of precipitate resistance leads to a lower level of plastic deformation. Moreover, we observed a high plastic strain gradient at the interface of non-shearable precipitates.