Investigation on dislocation-based mechanisms of void growth and coalescence in single crystal and nanotwinned nickels by molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to elucidate dislocation mechanisms of the void growth and coalescence in single crystal and nanotwinned nickels subjected to uniaxial tension. The simulation results reveal that twin boundary is capable of decreasing the critical stress, suppressing the emission of dislocations and reducing the overall stiffness of the crystal. A size-scale dependence of critical stress is definitely illustrated through stress–strain response, where the larger void size leads to the lower critical stress and strain. It is the successive emissions of leading partials and the subsequent trailing partials that cause the atoms on the void surfaces to escape from the void surfaces continually, and consequently the voids grow to be larger and larger with increasing strain. The voids in the nanotwinned nickel coalesce earlier than those in the single crystal nickel even though the initiation of dislocations in the former is later than that in the latter. Void fraction remains a constant during elastic deformation, while it presents a linear increase with increasing strain during plastic deformation. Evolution of void fraction during void growth and coalescence is independent on void size.