From electron tomography of dislocations to field dislocation mechanics: application to olivine

Abstract

We propose a new procedure to extract information from electron tomography and use them as an input in a field dislocation mechanics. Dislocation electron tomography is an experimental technique that provides three-dimensional (3D) information on dislocation lines and Burgers vectors within a thin foil. The characterized 3D dislocation lines are used to construct the spatial distribution of the equivalent Nye dislocation density tensor. The model dislocation lattice incompatibility equation and stress balance equation are solved with a spectral code based on fast Fourier transform algorithms. As an output of the model, one obtains the 3D distribution of mechanical fields, such as strains, rotations, stresses, resolved shear stresses (RSSs) and energy, inside the material. To assess the potential of the method, we consider two regions from a previously compressed olivine sample. Our results reveal significant local variations in local stress fields and RSSs in various slip systems, which can impact the strong plastic anisotropy of olivine and the activation of different dislocation slip systems. It also evidences the built-up of kinematic hardening down to the nanometre scale.