Photo-induced spall failure of (111) twist grain boundaries in Ni bicrystals

TL;DR

This study uses molecular dynamics simulations to explore how laser-induced light-matter interactions cause spall failure in nickel bicrystals, emphasizing the role of grain boundary misorientation in dislocation activity and failure mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a novel simulation approach to study photo-induced spall failure in Ni bicrystals, highlighting the influence of misorientation angles and grain boundaries on failure behavior.

Findings

Light-matter interactions can induce spall failure similar to impact methods.

Misorientation angles significantly affect dislocation activity and spall behavior.

Tailoring grain boundary angles can potentially enhance material resistance to spall failure.

Abstract

Spall failure, a complex failure mechanism driven by tensile stress wave interactions, has been extensively studied in single-crystal FCC metals, revealing a precursor stage involving dislocation emission along closed-packed directions. Here we investigate the photo-induced spall failure of Ni bicrystals under a two-pulse laser configuration, exploring various misorientation angles through two-temperature molecular dynamics (MD) simulations including electronic effects to simulate light-matter interaction. Our findings demonstrate that light-matter interactions can induce spall failure at the sample center, similar to conventional plate-impact methods, when two laser-pulses are applied to the front and back surfaces of the sample. The study reveals the significant influence of misorientation angles on dislocation activity and spall behavior, where grain boundaries (GBs) play pivotal roles, either promoting or impeding dislocation interactions. Furthermore, our work highlights the potential for enhancing spall resistance by tailoring materials through misorientation angle variation.