• Open Access

Bending Crystals: Emergence of Fractal Dislocation Structures

Yong S. Chen, Woosong Choi, Stefanos Papanikolaou, and James P. Sethna
Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 105501 – Published 1 September 2010
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Abstract

We provide a minimal continuum model for mesoscale plasticity, explaining the cellular dislocation structures observed in deformed crystals. Our dislocation density tensor evolves from random, smooth initial conditions to form self-similar structures strikingly similar to those seen experimentally—reproducing both the fractal morphologies and some features of the scaling of cell sizes and misorientations analyzed experimentally. Our model provides a framework for understanding emergent dislocation structures on the mesoscale, a bridge across a computationally demanding mesoscale gap in the multiscale modeling program, and a new example of self-similar structure formation in nonequilibrium systems.

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  • Received 8 March 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.105501

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

© 2010 The American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Yong S. Chen, Woosong Choi, Stefanos Papanikolaou, and James P. Sethna

  • Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics (LASSP), Clark Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-2501, USA

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Issue

Vol. 105, Iss. 10 — 3 September 2010

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