RESUMEN
We use multimillion-atom molecular dynamics simulations to study shock wave propagation in fcc crystals. As shown recently, shock waves along the <100> direction form intersecting stacking faults by slippage along 111 close-packed planes at sufficiently high shock strengths. We find even more interesting behavior of shocks propagating in other low-index directions: for the <111> case, an elastic precursor separates the shock front from the slipped (plastic) region. Shock waves along the <110> direction generate a leading solitary wave train, followed (at sufficiently high shock speeds) by an elastic precursor, and then a region of complex plastic deformation.
RESUMEN
Nonequilibrium molecular-dynamics simulations of shock waves in three-dimensional 10-million atom face-centered cubic crystals with cross-sectional dimensions of 100 by 100 unit cells show that the system slips along all of the available 111 slip planes, in different places along the nonplanar shock front. Comparison of these simulations with earlier ones on a smaller scale not only eliminates the possibility that the observed slippage is an artifact of transverse periodic boundary conditions, but also reveals the richness of the nanostructure left behind. By introducing a piston face that is no longer perfectly flat, mimicking a line or surface inhomogeneity in the unshocked material, it is shown that for weaker shock waves (below the perfect-crystal yield strength), stacking faults can be nucleated by preexisting extended defects.
RESUMEN
The results of massively parallel three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations of the perpendicular intersection of extended dislocations in copper are reported. The intersection process, which involves three of the four possible 111 glide planes in the face-centered cubic lattice, begins with junction formation, followed by unzipping, partial dislocation bowing, cutting, and, finally, unit jog formation. The investigation provides insights into this complex atomistic process, which is currently not accessible to experimental investigation.