Phase field crystal simulation of strain-induced square phase low-angle symmetric tilt grain boundary dislocation reaction

Abstract

In this paper, the phase field crystal method is used to study the dislocation motion and reaction of the square phase symmetric tilt low-angle grain boundaries, and the dislocation configurations with different misorientation angles are analyzed under the action of applied strain. The geometric phase approach is used to characterize the strain field around the dislocations. The results show that after the solidification relaxation, the interfacial dislocations on both sides of the grain are distributed in parallel but opposite direction. With the increase of misorientation angle between grains, the number of dislocations increases, the spacing between them decreases, and the free energy of the system increases. Imposed by the applied strain, the grain boundary dislocations undergo climbing, launching, and reactive annihilation, with the free energy fluctuating. When the misorientation increases, the dislocation motion mode changes from climbing to climbing-sliping, resulting in more dislocation group configurations, and more reactions between dislocations and dislocation groups. For the dislocation reactions of different configurations, positive shear strain drives dislocations to approach, and negative shear strain drives dislocations to annihilate.