Molecular dynamics investigation of dislocation pinning by a nanovoid in copper

Abstract

Interactions between an edge dislocation and a void in copper are investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulation. The depinning stresses of the leading partial and of the trailing partial show qualitatively different behaviors. The depinning stress of the trailing partial increases logarithmically with the void radius, while that of the leading partial shows a crossover at 1 nm above which two partials are simultaneously trapped by the void. The pinning angle, which characterizes the obstacle strength, approaches zero when the void radius exceeds 3 nm. No temperature dependence is found in the critical stress and the critical angle. This is attributed to an absence of climb motion. The distance between the void center and a glide plane asymmetrically affects the pinning strength.