Screened disclinations in solids

Abstract

The properties of screened disclination configurations (loops, dipoles, defects in small particles, etc.) with relatively small energies are considered. The methods and results of calculations of elastic stresses and energies for screened disclinations are discussed. The following techniques of calculations are mentioned: linear and non-linear elasticity and computer simulation. The exact solutions recently obtained for disclinations in thin films and elastic spheres are briefly reported. On the basis of the properties of screened disclinations, a series of models for the processes of plastic deformation are proposed. The bands with misoriented crystal lattices in metals and other materials are described as a result of partial wedge disclination dipole motion. Other disclination models are applied to the description of work hardening at large strains and to the theory of grain boundaries in polycrystals. Disclination models for the structure and properties of amorphous solids and nanoparticles are also discussed.