Influence of Size on the Fractal Dimension of Dislocation Microstructure

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) discrete dislocation dynamics simulations are used to analyze the size effect on the fractal dimension of two-dimensional (2D) and 3D dislocation microstructure. 2D dislocation structures are analyzed first, and the calculated fractal dimension ( n 2 ) is found to be consistent with experimental results gleaned from transmission electron microscopy images. The value of n 2 is found to be close to unity for sizes smaller than 300 nm, and increases to a saturation value of ≈1.8 for sizes above approximately 10 microns. It is discovered that reducing the sample size leads to a decrease in the fractal dimension because of the decrease in the likelihood of forming strong tangles at small scales. Dislocation ensembles are found to exist in a more isolated way at the nano- and micro-scales. Fractal analysis is carried out on 3D dislocation structures and the 3D fractal dimension ( n 3 ) is determined. The analysis here shows that ( n 3 ) is significantly smaller than ( n 2 + 1 ) of 2D projected dislocations in all considered sizes.