Dislocations and Related Aspects

• Dislocations
- Types
-- Edge
-- Screw
-- Mixed
-- Partial (reaction)
-- Stair rod
-- Sessile
-- Glissile
- Generation
-- Frank-Reed Source
- Effects
-- Straining
-- Energy
-- Material hardening/strengthening
-- Plastic deformation/forming/shaping
 Dislocations and Related Processes
- Processes/phenomena
-- Climbing
-- Jogging
-- Kinking

- Slip
- Slip planes & directions (slip system)
- Annihilation/removal
- Pinning
- Pile up
- Cross-slip
 Dislocation
• Dislocation
- Irregularity in atomic arrangement over a
certain length of region

- Described by a closed loop surrounding the

dislocation line

• Dislocation line
- The line along which irregularity occurs

• Burger’s circuit
- The closed loop surrounding the dislocation
line
- Formed by proceeding through the
undisturbed region surrounding a dislocation in

steps which are integral multiples of a lattice

 Dislocation
- Dislocation loop is completed by going an
equal number of translation in a positive sense
and negative sense in a plane normal to the
dislocation line

- Such a loop must close upon itself if it does not

enclose a dislocation, or fail to do so by an
amount called a Burgers vector
s = naa + nbb + ncc
where na, nb, nc are equal to integers or zero
and a, b, c are the three primitive lattice
translations
 Dislocations
• An extremely important class of crystal defects
• A stoichiometric line defect
• Regular atomic arrangement is broken near
dislocations
• Some of the atoms of the crystal lattice are
misaligned around dislocations
• A crystallographic defect, or irregularity within

a crystal structure
• Produces lattice strain (distortion)
• Direction and magnitude of such distortion is
expressed in terms of a Burgers vector b
• Play a major role in controlling end properties of
 Dislocations
• Movement of dislocations leads to slip

• Dislocations are characterized by Burgers

vector, b
 Burgers Vector
• Dislocations are characterized by Burgers vector
b

• Burgers Vector describes the size and the

direction of the main lattice distortion caused by
a dislocation

• Burgers vector b denotes actually the

dislocation-displacement vector

• For metallic materials, the Burgers vector for a

dislocation will point in a closed-packed
crystallographic direction and will be of
magnitude equal to the interatomic spacing
 Determination of Burgers Vector
• Make a circuit in the perfect reference lattice in a right
handed fashion from atom to atom counting the same
number of atomic distances in all directions
• Repeat the circuit in the real (defective) lattice so as to
enclose the dislocation
• The Burgers vector is the vector in the real (defective)
crystal from the finishing point F to the starting point S
- If the circuit encloses a dislocation it will not
close
- The vector that closes the loop is the Burgers vector b

Perfect Crystal Crystal with Distortion

 Edge Dislocations
• Caused by the abrupt termination of a plane of
atoms in the middle of a crystal
• The adjacent planes not straight, but instead
bend around the edge of the terminating plane
so that the crystal structure is perfectly ordered
on either side

• Can easily be visualized as an extra half-plane of

atoms in a lattice.

• The displacement field around the edge

dislocation is defined by its Burgers vector
 Edge Dislocations
• Burgers vector perpendicular to the
dislocation line

• Move in the direction of (parallel to) the

dislocation line

- Edge dislocations can climb

- Two types of edge dislocations

-- Positive edge dislocations

(extra half plane above the dislocation line)

-- Negative edge dislocations

(extra half plane below the dislocation line )
 Edge Dislocations
Direction of Dislocation motion
Extra half plane

Extra half plane

Dislocation core
Dislocation line
Burgers vector

Extra half plane

Dislocation line
-ve edge dislocation

+ve edge dislocation

Direction of dislocation motion
 Burger’s Vectors (Burgers Circuit)
4 4

3 3 3 3

4 4

Burger’s circuit for a

dislocation-free material
Note “compressed bonds” and
“elongated bonds.”
Do same with dislocation and end
up “past” starting point.
Vector b = distance to get back to
circuit.
 Screw Dislocations
• A step or ramp that is formed by the
displacement of atoms in a plane in the crystal

• A helical path is traced around the linear

defect (dislocation line) by the atomic planes in
the crystal lattice

• The screw basically forms the boundary

between the slipped and unslipped atoms in
the crystal

• The end point would be displaced from the

starting point by one lattice space

• The dislocation line of a screw dislocation is

the axis of the screw
 Screw Dislocations
• Generated by “slicing” a plane through the
crystal up to a certain line, and by displacing
the atoms on one side of the plane by one unit
cell along the direction of the line

• Let a sharp cut be made part way through a

perfect crystal

• Let the crystal on one side of the cut be moved

down by one atomic spacing relative to the
other so that the rows of atoms are placed
back into contact

• A line of distortion exists along the edge of the

cut called the screw dislocation
 Screw Dislocations
• In this case complete planes of atoms normal to
the dislocation do not exist any longer but all
atoms lie on a single surface which spirals from
one end of the crystal to the other and so called
screw dislocation

• Burgers vector parallel to the dislocation line

• Move in a direction perpendicular to the that
of the dislocation line
• Left hand screw dislocation
• Right hand screw dislocation
• Crystals often grow along screw dislocation
• The pitch of the screw may be left-handed or
right-handed and one or more atom distances
per rotation

• The distortion is very little in regions away

from the screw dislocation while atoms near
the centre are in regions of high distortion so
much so that the local symmetry in the
crystal is completely destroyed

• In this case, the atoms near the centre of the

screw dislocation are not in a dilatation as in
edge dislocation but are on a twisted or
sheared lattice
 Screw Dislocations

Direction of Dislocation motion Direction of Dislocation motion

Direction of dislocation
motion

Dislocation line Burgers vector

Screw Dislocations
 Screw Dislocations

S-S’ represents the line of the

screw dislocation
- Burgers vector of screw dislocations is parallel to the line of
the dislocation (SS’)
If we trace a clockwise path from A right-handed screw
start to finish, the closure failure dislocation is obtained
from finish to start is the Burgers when traversing the circuit
vector b of the dislocation around the dislocation line
and we then have the helix
one atomic plane into the
crystal
 Dislocation Loops
• The generation of dislocations involve the
formation of dislocation loops
• Two dislocations change direction inside the
crystal and meet up to form a quarter
dislocation loop
- pure edge at one end and pure screw at the
other
• If the dislocation consists of an extra plane of
atoms (or a missing plane of atoms) lying
entirely within the crystal, then the dislocation
is known as a 'dislocation loop'
• The dislocation line of a dislocation loop forms a
closed curve that is usually circular in shape,
since this shape results in the lowest
dislocation energy
 Mixed Dislocations
• Dislocations occur
- As straight lines in single crystals
- Generally as mixed dislocations containing
edge and screw components in materials
-- Dislocation loop
--- interlock dislocation network
• Any small segment of the
dislocation loop can be
resolved into edge and screw
components
- e.g. pure screw at point A
and pure edge at point B
- Along most of its length
contains mixed edge and
screw with the same Burgers
vector
 Mixed Dislocations
• The dislocation line is neither
perpendicular and nor parallel
to the Burgers vector, it is
called a segment of mixed type
• Dislocation segments of an
edge, screw and mixed type can
arrange themselves
continuously along a line forming
a dislocation line
• The dislocation line cannot end inside a crystal.
It must either leave the crystal with each end at
the crystal surface or (as is generally observed
in real cases) form a closed dislocation loop

• The Burgers vector is constant along the

dislocation line
 Slip System

• A combination slip (close packed) planes and

slip (close packed) directions

• Slip system = Number of slip (close packed)

planes multiplied by the number
of close packed directions

• All metals do not have the same slip system

since
- For most metals, the slip system will
consist of the most densely packed
crystallographic plane, and within that
plane the most closely packed direction.
This plane and direction will vary from
one crystal structure to the other
•
 Slip Planes and Slip Directions
• Slip Planes
- Highest Planar Density
- A crystallographic plane, and, within that
plane, a direction along which dislocation
motion (or slip) occurs
- Also called the glide plane, it is the plane
containing the Burgers vector b and the
dislocation line

• Slip Directions
- Highest Linear Density
• Slip System
= No. of Slip Planes x No. of Slip Direction
 Slip System in FCC Structure

• The {111} planes have the highest atomic

density and hence called close packed (slip)
planes
• There are four slip planes
• The <110> directions have the highest atomic
density and hence called a close packed (slip)
directions
• There are three (slip) directions
(Actually 6 slip directions on six faces of the cube but three are
parallel to rest three directions making 3 slip directions only)

• Slip system = 4 x 3 = 12
• Coordination no: 12
 Slip System in BCC Structure
• {110} planes the most densely packed planes

• {110}, {112} and {123} the slip planes

• No ideally close packed planes but all semi

packed types
- Even the most densely packed planes in BCC
are not ideally closed-packed and have
lower density than that of (111) in FCC
• A total of 48 slip systems

• Only the body diagonals <111> are the slip

directions
• Coordination no. in BCC: 8
Close packed planes & directions in FCC
 Slip System in HCP

• Close packed directions <11-20> family: 3

• Close packed planes : {0001} family: 1

• Slip system = 3 x 1 = 3
 Important !!

• Highest number of slip systems in BCC among

BCC, FCC and HCP but none of the slip planes
ideally dense packed

• Ascending order of deformability :: slip system

HCP < BCC < FCC :: 3 < 48 >12

• Despite the greatest number of slip systems,

BCC solids are less deformable than FCC solids

• HCP Solids with c/a > 1.633

c
- Solid lubricants

a
Slip system in BCC
 Dislocation Movement
• The dislocations move along the densest
planes in the densest directions because
- The stress needed to move the dislocation
increases with the length of the Burgers
vector and interplanar spacing
• There are many such dense planes in FCC and
BCC metals, so these materials have high
ductility, meaning that they deform a great
deal before they break/crack
• Dislocations allow slip at much lower stress
than in a perfect crystal
• If the top half of the crystal is slipping one
plane at a time then only a small fraction of the
bonds are broken at any given time requiring a
much smaller force
 Dislocation Movement
• In the process of slipping one plane at a time, a
dislocation is created and propagates across the
crystal

• The propagation of one dislocation across the

plane causes the top half of the crystal to move
with respect to the bottom half but we do not
have to break all the bonds across the middle
plane simultaneously; the latter one would
otherwise require a very large force
 Dislocation Motion
• Dislocations can slip in planes containing both
the dislocation and the Burgers vector

• For a screw dislocation, the dislocation and the

Burgers vector are parallel, so the dislocation
may slip in any plane containing the dislocation

• For an edge dislocation, the dislocation and the

Burgers vector are perpendicular, so there is
only one plane in which the dislocation can slip

• Dislocations can move if the atoms from one of

the surrounding planes break their bonds and
rebond with the atoms at the terminating edge
 Movement of Dislocations

• Dislocation motion is analogous to movement of

a caterpillar

• The caterpillar would have to exert a large force

to move its entire body at once

• Instead it moves the rear portion of its body

forward a small amount and creates a hump. The
hump then moves forward and eventually moves
all of the body forward by a small amount

• The same trick may be used to move a large

carpet
 Movement of Dislocations
• Instead of dragging the entire carpet one can
create a hump in the carpet and then push it
across the floor

• Dislocation moves similarly a small amount

(one plane) at a time

• Plastic deformation of metals occurs by sliding

of adjacent closed packed or densely-packed
planes (slip planes)
 Significance of Dislocation Movement

• Understanding the movement of a dislocation is

key to understanding why dislocations allow
deformation to occur at much lower stress than
in a perfect crystal

• In ionically bonded materials, the Burgers

vector is very long because the ion must move
past a repulsive site to the next location of the
same charge, so slip is difficult and the
materials are brittle

• Likewise, the low packing density of covalent

materials makes them brittle because there are
no dense planes for dislocation movement
Movement of Dislocations
 Slip Mechanism
Slip occurs due to the movement of dislocations
 Movement of Dislocations

• There is usually a preferred plane or set of

planes on which dislocations can occur and
also preferred directions for dislocation motion

• The direction of motion of dislocations is usually

parallel to a direction of close packing in the
structure

• Slip occurs in densely or close packed planes

• Less shear stress/energy is required for slip

to occur in densely packed planes
 Slip in Single Crystals

Burgers vector = b = d; Activation Energy=Eb ∞ b2 ∞ d2

- Less energy needed for dislocation movement along densely packed
planes ; Slip more favourable along close packed
planes

Burgers vector = b’ = √2d; Activation Energy = Eb ∞ b’2 ∞ 2d2

More energy intensive; Slip less favourable along Non-
close packed planes
 As long as the force is sufficient to displace by x=b/4, slip
takes place ⇒ γ= b/4a, γ is the strain due to a dislocation

Note: slip does not occur by rigid displacement over the entire
surface but by steps through the movement of dislocations
 Movement of Dislocations

Slip does not occur by rigid displacement over the entire surface
but in steps through the movement of dislocations
 Dislocation motion via “glide” / “slip”

Schematic illustration of single crystal deformation by motion of an

edge dislocation:
(a) Application of shear stress τyx can introduce an edge dislocation
into a crystal along AB and cause it to move to position DC.
( b) Lattice representation clearly showing that the dislocation has
edge character
 Dislocation motion via “glide” / “slip”

Single crystal deformation via motion of a screw dislocation:

(a) Application of a shear stress τyx can introduce a screw dislocation
into a crystal along line EF and cause it to move to position HG.
(b) Lattice presentation clearly showing that the dislocation has right-
hand screw character
 Dislocation Glide
• Dislocations’ glide velocity (v) depends on

– Applied stress

– Purity of the crystal

– Temperature

– Type of dislocation

Where τ is the applied shear stress in the slip plane,

Τo the shear stress for v = 1 m/s, and m (constant)
= 1.5-40
This equation is empirical in nature and applies for
a specific velocity range: 10-9 to 10-3 m/s
 • Dislocation velocity
increases rapidly at the
CRSS

• Signifies the beginning of

plastic deformation

• For an applied shear stress,

edge dislocations move
faster than screw dislocations

Stress dependence of the velocity of

edge and screw dislocations in LiF
 Dislocation Climb
• The driving force for dislocation climb is the
movement of vacancies through a crystal lattice

• If a vacancy moves next to the boundary of the

extra half plane of atoms that forms an edge
dislocation, the atom in the half plane closest to
the vacancy can "jump" and fill the vacancy

• This atom shift "moves" the vacancy in line with

the half plane of atoms, causing a shift or
positive climb of the dislocation

• The process of a vacancy being absorbed at the

boundary of a half plane of atoms, rather than
created, is known as negative climb.
 Dislocation Climb
• Since dislocation climb results from individual
atoms "jumping" into vacancies, climb occurs
in single atom diameter increments.

• During positive climb, the crystal shrinks in the

direction perpendicular to the extra half plane
of atoms because atoms are being removed
from the half plane

• Since negative climb involves an addition of

atoms to the half plane, the crystal grows in
the direction perpendicular to the half plane

• Therefore, compressive stress in the direction

perpendicular to the half plane promotes
positive climb, while tensile stress promotes
negative climb
 Dislocation Climb
• A non conservative movement (wherein the
length of the dislocation line changes) of
dislocations where an edge dislocation can
move out of the slip plane onto a parallel plane
directly above or below the slip plane
• Climb is diffusion-controlled (thermal
activated) and occurs more readily at elevated
temperatures
- Minimal at low temperatures where diffusion
is difficult
- Significant at high temperatures where
diffusion is easier
. An important mechanism in creep
 Dislocation Climb
• Positive direction of climb is when
- The edge dislocation moves upwards
removing extra atom (or adding vacancy
around )
- Compressive force produces (positive)
upward climb
• Negative direction of climb is when
- The edge dislocation moves downwards
- Atom is added to the extra plane
- Tensile forces to produce (negative)
downward climb
 Dislocation Climb
Positive Climb

Diffusion of vacancy to edge Dislocation climbs up one

dislocation lattice spacing

Note: Glide or slip of a dislocation is the direction parallel to its

direction whereas climb of dislocation is in the vertical
direction
Dislocation Climb
 Dislocation Motion: Glide and Climb
• Dislocations move via processes called
- Glide (conservative motion since the length
of the dislocation line remains unchanged)
-- Dislocation moves on a surface (slip
plane) that contains both its line and
Burgers vector
-- A dislocation that moves this way is
glissile
-- A dislocation that can’t move is sessile
-- The glide surface and direction of the
movement of dislocations (slip system)
depend upon the crystal structure
- Climb (non-conservative motion)
-- A dislocation moves out of (perpendicular
to) the glide (slip) plane
 Dislocation Motion: Glide and Climb

• Dislocation climb allows an edge dislocation to

move perpendicular to its slip plane while slip
leads to dislocation movement on the slip plane

• Climb occurs much more rapidly at high

temperatures due to an increase in vacancy
motion while slip has only a small
dependence on temperature
 Implications of Climb
• Climb of short sections of dislocation lines result
in the formation of steps called jogs and kinks

• Jogs are steps on a dislocation line that move it

from one atomic plane to another

• Dislocation climb proceeds by the nucleation

and motion of jogs

• Kinks are another type of steps on a dislocation

line that displace the dislocation within the slip
plane
 Cross slip
- A process to overcome an obstacle in primary
slip plane
-- Screw dislocation: no uniquely defined slip
plane
-- Transfer to intersecting slip plane with same
b
-- Returns to initial slip plane (double cross
slip)
-- Conservative in nature: length of dislocation
line remains unchanged
 Cross slip
• In FCC cubic metals, (111)
- The screw dislocations (1-11)
move in {111} type S
planes, but can switch
cross-slip
from one {111} type plane
Double
to another if it contains
cross-slip
the direction of b
Cross slip in a face-centred
- process called cross-slip cubic crystal.
• A screw dislocation at S is
free to glide in either (111)
or (1-11) closed-packed
planes
• Double cross slip is shown
in (d).
• Cross slip due to screw Cross slip on the polished surface
dislocations only of a single crystal of 3.25% Si iron.
 Stress field of Dislocations
• A dislocation is surrounded by an elastic stress
field that produces forces on other dislocations
and results in interaction between dislocations
and solute atoms
 Stress Field around Dislocations
• The cross section of the
original elastic cylindrical
piece without any
dislocation (dashed line)
remains undistorted.
• The piece gets distorted
(solid blue line) after an
edge dislocation running
through point O parallel to
the Z- axis (blue line) is
introduced
• The strain is zero in the z Cross section of a cylindrical piece of elastic material
containing an edge dislocation running through point O
axis and therefore can be
parallel to Z-axis ( i.e. normal to the plane of the figure)
treated in plane strain (x-
y) The shear stress τxy is maximum
• The stresses vary inversely in the slip plane, when y = 0.
with distance from the
Deformation of a circle
dislocation line and
become infinite at r = 0 containing an edge dislocation
 Strain Energy of Dislocations

• The strain energy involved in the formation of

an edge dislocation can be estimated from the
work involved in displacement of the cut OA a
distance b along the slip plane

• The strain energy of a screw dislocation is given

by

• The total strain energy is the sum of elastic strain

energy and the core energy of dislocation.

• The dislocation energy per unit length

simplifies to
 Forces on Dislocations
• For a dislocation line moving in the
direction of its Burgers vector under
the influence of a uniform shear stress
τ, the force per unit length of dislocation

F is given as Force acting on a

dislocation line.

F = Gb2 / R = Tb; Gb/R = T or T = Gb/R

- Dislocation line is straight if no force applies
• This force is normal to the dislocation line at
every point along its length and is directed
toward the unslipped part of the glide plane

• The Burgers vector is constant along the curved

dislocation line
 Forces between Dislocations

Forces between two edge dislocations depend on their

relative positions

Three stable configurations of edge dislocations

Forces between Edge Dislocations on
Adjacent Planes

Forces between like Edge Dislocations on

X: distance between Adjacent Planes (y= interplanar spacing)
the dislocations
(expressed in terms
of y)
Curve A : Solid line for like
Y: distance between edge dislocations
+ve force: repulsion
the adjacent planes
having the
dislocations -ve force: attraction
Curve B : Dashed line for unlike
edge dislocations

Forces between unlike Edge Dislocations on

Adjacent Planes (y= interplanar spacing)
- Edge dislocations of same (like) sign on
adjacent planes
--- Repel each other when x>y making the
angle of inclination θ<45o
--- Attract each other when x<y making the
angle of inclination θ>45o
- Edge dislocations of opposite (unlike) sign on
adjacent planes
--- Attract each other when x>y making the
angle of inclination θ<45o
--- Repel each other when x<y making the
angle of inclination θ>45o
--- The force (of attraction/repulsion) Fx = 0 at
x = 0 and x=y
 Forces between Dislocations
• Dislocations of opposite sign on the same slip
plane will attract each other, run together, and
annihilate each other
• Dislocations of like sign on the same slip plane
will repel each other
• Forces between two edge dislocations depend
on their relative positions
- For like edge dislocations
--- X and Y forces are repulsive in nature
when the edge dislocations are inclined
at -45o -45o; -135o -225o

--- X and Y forces are attractive in nature

when the edge dislocations are inclined
at 45o -135o; 225o -315o
 Forces between Dislocations
• The radial force Fr between two parallel screw
dislocations

• Parallel screw (same sign) : +

• Anti-parallel screw (opposite sign): -

• Radial force between two parallel edge

dislocations

• Tangential force between two

parallel edge dislocations
 Forces between Dislocations
• Path of a mobile edge dislocation due to a
sessile edge dislocation on a parallel plane
- Interaction parameter

h = Gb/[8∏(1-ν)τxy]
- Defined by the force balance between
Fτ and F –
τ τ

-- if yo > h, No interaction and the mobile

dislocation 1 escapes the force due to
sessile dislocation 2
Interaction between Mobile and Immobile
Dislocations
 Dislocation Structures: Kinks and Jogs
• Intersection of dislocations produces a sharp
break/step (a few atom spacing in length) in
dislocation line(s) termed kinks and jog

• Jogs and kinks are short segments of a dislocation

line that are displaced from the original line

• Kinks and jogs have the same Burgers vector as

the dislocation line on which they lie

• Jog is a sharp break/step in the dislocation

on the planes other than that of the dislocation
moving jog out of the slip plane (from one atomic
slip plane to another)
• Kink is a sharp break/step in the dislocation
line which remains on the same slip plane (i.e.
 Dislocation Structures: Kinks and Jogs
• Kinks in either edge or screw dislocations
- Do not impede glide of a dislocation line
- Can actually assist/promote glide
• Jogs in edge dislocations do not impede the
glide of edge dislocations
• Jogs in screw dislocations
- Have “edge character/orientation” (burgers
vector perpendicular to the jogs)
- Cannot glide along with the screw dislocation
- Have to climb for them to keep up with
the gliding screw dislocations
- Impede the motion of screw dislocations
• Dislocation intersections producing kinks and
jogs play an important role in the strain/work
hardening process and dislocation multiplication
 Dislocation Structures: Kinks and Jogs

• The same rules apply for conservative and non-

conservative motion of jogs and kinks as for
regular dislocations
 Dislocation Intersection on a Slip Plane
• Acquires a step
-- Equal in direction and magnitude to
intersecting dislocations burgers vector

• Nothing happens if the Burgers vector b is

parallel to the dislocation line

• May have different character and glide plane

than original dislocation
 Steps in Dislocations
Jog Kink
• Step in slip plane
• Step normal to slip plane
• Constant glide
• Changes glide plane
• Mobile (glissile)
• Pinning point (sessile)

Jog with edge orientation (Burgers vector

Kink with screw orientation (Burgers
parallel to the jog vector parallel to the kink
Steps in Dislocations
 kinks

Kinks in edge and screw dislocations

Dislocation Line

Jogs

Jogs in edge and screw dislocations

 Motion of Dislocations through Kinks
• To glide, dislocations must overcome the
Peierls Nabarro barrier

• Dislocation lines do this in a step-like

fashion where a small segment proceeds
beyond the Peierls barrier first producing a
kink

• Kinks spread laterally along the dislocation

line resulting in forward motion of the
dislocation line.
 Kink Propagation
• Dislocation velocity, , is a function of kink
velocity, vk:

where L is the length of the dislocation segment

and b is the Burgers vector (b < L)

• Kink velocity is a function of kink formation

energy (Wk):

where Q = Wk for a single kink (#2) and 2Wk for

a double kink (#3 and #4).
 Kink Propagation
• There is a driving force for the kink to move
from a high energy to a low energy state
• This process occurs because lateral
propagation of kinks occurs more readily than
forward motion of an entire dislocation line
over the Peierls-Nabarro barrier
• This is because
 Kink Geometry
• Kink widths are determined by a balance
between line tension forces and the Peierls
barrier

(A) Kinks tend to be narrower and

more difficult to move in less
(B, C) Kinks tend to be more
close packed structures
diffuse and easier to move in
close-packed structures
Movement of a Jog on a Screw Dislocation

The jog AB has a Burgers vector normal to AB. It is therefore a short

length of edge dislocation. The plane defined by AB and it’s Burgers
vector is AB2D. It is the plane upon which AB can glide. Movement of
the screw dislocation 1AB2 to 1´A´B´2´ requires climb of jog AB to A
´B´
Intersection of Two Edge Dislocations with
Burgers Vectors at Right Angle to Each Other
• An edge dislocation XY
(a) Intersecting
with Burgers vector b1 is slip planes
moving on plane Pxy and
cuts through dislocation
AB with Burgers vector b2
• The intersection causes (b) dislocations
jog PP’ in dislocation AB before intersection
parallel to b1 and has
Burgers vector b2 and
(c) after
with the length of the intersection
jog = b1 producing jog
PP´ in AB
• It can readily glide with
the rest
Note: of dislocation
b1 is normal to AB and jogs AB, while b2 is parallel to XY and
no jog is formed.
 Intersection of Edge Dislocations with
Burgers Vectors Parallel to Each Other
( a) Intersecting slip
planes

(b) dislocations before

intersection

(c) after intersection

producing kink PP´ in
AB and kink QQ´ in XY
 Interaction of Screw Dislocations:
Behaviour of Jogs with Different Heights on a
Screw Dislocation
• Small jogs are dragged
along and create point
defects as they move
(Fig. a)

• In the case of very large

jogs, dislocations (NY and
XM) forming them move
independently (Fig. b)
• For Intermediate jogs, the dislocations (NP and
MO) interact with each other and cannot pass by
each other except at very high stress (Fig. c)
 Intersection of an Edge Dislocation with
a Right-handed Screw Dislocation

Intersection of edge dislocation

AB with right-handed screw
dislocation XY: (a) Before
intersection, (b) After
intersection jog PP´ is produced
on AB and kink QQ´ is produced
on XY; the jog and kink kave
edge orientation (Burgers vector
perpendicular to the kink/jog
formed)
Intersections of Two Right-Handed Screw
Dislocations with Burgers vector perpendicular
to each other
Intersection of screw dislocation s AB
and XY. (a) Before intersection. (b) After
intersection jogs are produced on both
screw dislocations

Creation of 2 jogs (with edge orientation since Burgers vector is

perpendicular to the jog) which impedes further dislocation motion.
This is a very important process in plastic deformation.
Note: At temperatures where climb cannot occur, the movement of screw dislocations is
impeded by jogs
Intersection of an edge and a screw dislocation. (a) A solid containing an edge and a
screw dislocation. The dislocation lines are the heavy ones in the figure. The applied
stress causes slip on both dislocations (b) Slip has occurred and half the plane
containing the screw dislocation is now the extra half plane for the edge dislocation.
The screw dislocation now has a jog. (c) Further motion of the edge dislocation creates
a jog in its dislocation line. (d) The orientation of the dislocation lines and the Burgers
vectors. The jog in the screw dislocation is not oriented for slip
 Collision of Dislocations

When two edge dislocations with different

Burgers vectors move across the slip planes
ABCD and EFGH and cut a dislocation loop,
the loop will expand under the applied stress
 Collision of Dislocations

This leads to the formation of a pair of kinks and

jogs on the dislocation loop. In this drawing the
kinks will be of magnitude b1 while the jogs will
 Lomer Lock: Combination

- Two Dislocations on primary slip planes combine

- New dislocation

-- b primary slip
direction

-- n non‐primary slip
plane

- Dislocation becomes
immobile “locked”
 Motion of a Jogged Screw Dislocations
A stable jog increases the
length of the dislocation line
and energy of the crystal
• Many intersections occur
when a screw dislocation
encounters a forest of screw
dislocations
- This produces vacancy jogs
and/or interstitial jogs.
• Jogs act as pinning points and
cause dislocations to bow out
with the radius R when the shear
stress τ is applied
• At some critical radius Rc the τ
(a) Straight dislocation under zero
required to further decrease R > stress, (b) Dislocation bowed out slip
the stress needed for non- plane between the jogs due to applied
conservative climb. Then the shear stress, (c) Movement of
dislocation will move forward dislocation leaving trails of vacancies
leaving a trail of vacancies behind the jogs
(interstitials) behind each jog Movement of jogged screw dislocation
Motion of a Jogged Screw Dislocation
 Superjogs

- A jog that has more than one atomic slip plane

spacing high

- As the stress increases, the dislocation bows out

between the superjogs, generating dislocation
dipoles and later break into isolated loops.

Formation of dislocation loops from a dislocation dipole

 Multiplication of Dislocations
• Frank & Read proposed that
dislocations could be generated
from existing dislocations
• The dislocation line AB bulges out
(A and B are anchored by
impurities) and produces slip as
the shear stress τ is applied
• Shear stress needed to create a
dislocation loop τ (for semicircle The operation of Frank-
dislocation bulge Read source
, fig (b)
Τ = 2Gb/l

Where l is the distance between the

pinning points A & B Frank Read source in a silicon
crystal
 Multiplication of Dislocations

• Beyond this point, the

dislocation loop
continues to expand till
parts m and n meet and
annihilate each other to
form a large loop and a
new dislocation
A B

Note: Repeating of this

process produces a
dislocation loop, which
gives rise to slip of one m n
Burgers vector along the
slip plane
Standard glide loop expanding in response to an applied shear stress,
showing a sense vector, 􀀁 and the corresponding Burgers vector, b , (RH/SF
convention) which define the character of the dislocation everywhere.
Standard glide loop (that expands under the applied shear stress)
showing the relevant vectors. The “hand” rules are illustrated.
 Origin of dislocation debris and dipoles

Figure Formation of dislocation loops from Dislocation dipoles and debris in two-phase
a dislocation dipole. (a) Dislocation dipole; titanium aluminides. Alloy 1, compression at
(b) Elongated dislocation loop; and (c) row T=295 K to strain =3%. (a) Dislocation dipoles
of small loops (i.e., debris). and debris (arrowed) are trailed and
terminated at jogs in screw dislocations.
 Dislocation Sources
• All metals initially contain an appreciable
number of dislocations produced from the
growth of the crystal from the melt or vapour
phase
• Gradient of temperature and composition may

affect dislocation arrangement

• Irregular grain boundaries are believed to be
responsible for emitting dislocations
• Dislocation can be formed by aggregation and
collapse of vacancies to form disk or prismatic
loop
• Heterogeneous nucleation of dislocations is
possible from high local stresses at second
phase particles or as a result of phase
 Dislocation-Point Defect Interactions
• Point defect and dislocation will interact
elastically and exert forces on each other
• Negative interaction energy lead to attraction
• Positive interaction energy gives rise to
repulsion
• If the solute atom is larger than the solvent
atom (ε > 1)
- The atom will be repelled from the
compressive side of a positive edge
dislocation and will be attracted to the
tension side
 Dislocation-Point Defect Interactions
• If the solute atom is smaller than the solvent
atom (ε < 1), the atom will be attracted to the
compression side

- Vacancies will be attracted to regions of

compression

- Interstitials will be collected at regions of

tension
 Dislocation Pile-ups
• Formed by dislocations
generated from a Frank-
Reed source held up at a
barrier/obstacle

• Dislocations often pile up

Dislocation pile-ups at an
on slip planes at barriers obstacle
formed by
- A lead dislocation from another Frank-Reed
source on a parallel slip plane
- Grain boundaries
- Second phase particles
• There is high stress concentration on the leading
dislocations in the pile-up
 Dislocation Pile-ups

• If the pile-up stress > theoretical shear stress,

yielding occurs
• A pile-up of n dislocations along a distance L
can be considered as a giant dislocation with a
Burgers vector nb

• The breakdown of a barrier occurs by

- Slip on a new plane
- Climb of dislocation around the barrier
- Generation of high enough tensile stress to
produce a crack
• The length of the pile up L
expressed as

where n= number of dislocations on

the pile, G = shear modulus, b =
Burgers vector, Txy = applied shear stress, Txy = stress
concentration

• Shear stress (concentration) just ahead of the

pile-up (i.e. r is small and θ = 0) is given as

• Shear stress concentration at large r but smaller

than L (such as at point P) is given as
 Plastic Deformation
• Edge dislocations are easily moved by
slipping; like a carpet: too heavy to drag, but
can move small wrinkle.

• The presence of a distortion relaxes the

requirement that entire planes of interatomic
bonds must distort and break simultaneously
for plastic deformation to occur. Instead,
plastic deformation can accompany the motion
of a dislocation through a crystal
 Plastic Deformation
• Removal of dislocations makes a material
brittle (e.g. bend Cu wire)
• Movement of dislocations is key to plastic
deformation
• Increasing resistance to deformation
(strengthening the metal) results from either
eliminating the dislocations or preventing
them from moving (pinning) by other
defects in the crystal and the initial dislocation
• Build-up of pinned dislocations leads to work
hardening

- Work hardening adds edge dislocations so

that planes no longer slip
 Plastic Deformation
• Moving an entire rug (large region) requires
lots of energy
• A single wrinkle serves as a dislocation in
facilitating the movement of the rug
- At any time only a small part of the rug
moves, so little energy required

• Work hardening is like having multiple tangled

wrinkles in the rug with one wrinkle pinning
the other
 Strengthening Mechanisms
• Metals are strengthened by making dislocation
movement more difficult
- Obstacles to dislocation motion (interstitial
atoms, boundaries, precipitates etc.) increase
strength by “pinning” the dislocations

- As a material deforms plastically, more

dislocations are produced and they will get into

each others way and impede movement leading

to strain or work hardening
 Annihilation of Dislocations
• A work-hardened metal can be softened again
by annealing (heating) at high temperatures

- Increased thermal motion allows atoms to

rearrange and go to lower energy states

• Opposite-sign dislocations merge resulting in

the elimination of two defects and in a
“reunification” of the regular atomic plane
Slip Bands and Slip Planes in Single Crystals
• Slip occurs during the plastic deformation of
single crystals

• Slip bands in ductile metals form on many slip

planes

• Slip occurs on many slip planes within slip

bands by dislocation movement (glide)
Strain Due to Dislocation Movement

γ= / h = x.b/L.h = (b/h.L) . X
N
γtotal = (b/h.L) Σ Xi
i=1

N= number of dislocations
_
X = ΣXi/N

ρ = Total length of dislocation lines/ volume

= N.l/h.l.l
_ _
γ = (bN/hl) x = ρbx
. _
 Peierls-Nabarro Stress
• Lattice resistance (friction) experienced by a
gliding dislocation

τP-N = (2G/1-v) exp (-2∏w/b)

where w= a/(1-v), G = shear modulus,

v= Poisson’s ratio, b= Burgers vector
 bmixed dislocation = bedge dislocation + bscrew dislocation

Dislocation Loops

• Glide loop
- Has Burgers vector b in the plane of the loop
- Expands or contracts under an applied stress
- Contains mixed, edge and screw dislocations

• Prismatic loop
- Pure edge loop
- Has Burgers vector b
perpendicular to the plane of the loop
- Glide plane is the cylinder perpendicular to the
plane of the loop
- Can not expand or contract on the plane of the loop
• Glissile dislocations are mobile in nature
• Sessile dislocations are immobile in nature

• Dislocation density

= Total number of dislocation intersections

per unit area

= Total length of dislocations per unit volume

• Strain energy density of a dislocation (elastic

strain energy per unit volume at radial
distance r)
Force on a Dislocation (due to applied stress)
The applied stress τ is σxy

Principle of Virtual Work:

Work done by τ = Work against the resistive force
Work done by τ = (τ l1 l2) b ------ (1)
Work by F (per unit length) = (F l1) l2 --------- (2)
Fper unit length = τb
The force acts along x-direction so that
Line tension of a dislocation (total elastic strain
energy per unit length

where is approximately equal to grain diameter

In general, τ = αGb2

where 0.5 < α < 1

Note:
• Energy is minimized for b lowest – b usually
along close packed direction

• In dislocation reactions, if b2 is minimized

(Frank’s rule), b splits into b and b
Effects of External Stresses on Dislocations
1. Normal stresses (σijδij) have no influence on
Screw dislocations ⁄ i.e. only shear stresses
have forces on them
2. only τij’s on the glide plane of the dislocation
have non-zero forces i.e., if

then τxy has no effect on this ⊥

2. Normal stresses on edge dislocations induce

forces perpendicular to the glide/slip plane ⇒
⊥ has to climb (non-conservative process)

3. A glide loop expands or contracts under the

appropriate applied shear stress
 Dislocation Dissociation
• The criterion for the occurrence of a dislocation
dissociation reaction summarized by Frank's
Energy Criterion as follows:

- The dissociation reaction b1 b2+ b3

-- would take place when b12 > b22 + b32

-- would not occur when b12 < b22 + b32

-- would remain in original state if b12 = b22 + b32

• Energy associated with a dislocation is proportiona

to the square of its Burgers vector
• b1: original unit dislocation with Burgers vector
unity, b2 & b3: partial dislocations with burgers vector
 Partial Dislocation
• A partial dislocation has a Burgers vector that is
shorter than a unit lattice translation vector for
the crystal structure

• The slip associated with the creation of the

dislocation must displace atoms from one stable
site to another

• If this displacement is not a unit vector of the

lattice, the creation of the dislocation will also
cause a local stacking error (a stacking fault) on
the slip plane of the dislocation.

• This stacking fault has an energy per unit area

associated with it
 Partial Dislocations in FCC Metals
• A dislocation of unit strength has a minimum
energy when its Burgers vector is parallel to a
direction of closest atomic packing
• In close-packed lattices, dislocations with
strength less than unity are possible. Therefore
crystals always slip in the close-packed direction

• Dislocations in FCC metals are composed of

partial dislocations separated by stacking faults

• It becomes necessary to determine the relative

positions of the partials in order to correctly
describe the configurations that are created
during dislocation reactions
• Shockley Partial Dislocations generally refer to a
pair of dislocations which can lead to the
presence of stacking faults

• This pair of partial dislocations can enable

dislocation motion by allowing an alternate path
for atomic motion
• The dissociation of the unit dislocation:

b = (a/2)< 1 1 0 >

into two Shockley partial dislocations with

bS = (a/6) < 2 1 1>

is favored and a region of stacking fault occurs

between the two partial dislocations
• Energy of the perfect dislocation

= G · b2 = G · (a/2<110>)2 = G · a2/2

• Energy of the two Shockley partial dislocations

=2G·(a/6<112>)2 = 2G · a2/36 · (12 + 12 + 22)

= G · a2/3

• Reduction in energy after partial formation and

hence reaction is favourable
Shockley partial dislocations in a Cu-7 wt% Al alloy
 Shockley Partial Dislocations
• Do not have opposite sign
Burgers vectors

• Burgers vectors are inclined to

each other at an angle of 60o

• Repel each other tending to

increase the separation
between the partials

• Their moving apart creates a

ribbon of stacking faults
causing dissipation of the
repulsive energy in part
• A balance between the repulsive energy available with a
pair of Shockley Partials (tending to make the their
separation larger and larger) and the energy dissipated in
the formation of a stacking fault controls the width of the
stacking fault maintaining equilibrium
 Shockley Partial Dislocations
• The energy of interaction (repulsion) becomes
large at short distances i.e. inversely
proportional to the distance between the
dislocations (width of the stacking fault)
• Based on this alone, the partial dislocations
thus would tend to maximize d

• There is some energy gain by just forming

partial dislocations in the first place, but
energy losses if we keep them too close
together, or if we move them too far apart

• There is an equilibrium distance deq which gives

a minimum energy for the total defect which
consists of a split dislocation and a stacking
fault
 Shockley Partial Dislocations and Stacking Fault
• This equilibrium distance deq will depend mostly
on the stacking fault energy g; for small g's we
expect a larger distance between the partials

• In principle, we can calculate deq by writing

down the total energy, i.e. the sum of the energy
gain by forming partial dislocations plus the
energy of the interaction plus the stacking fault
energy, then find the minimum with respect
to d by differentiation giving deq = µ g–½

• Slip occurs in the FCC lattice on the {111}

planes in the <110> directions and with a
Burgers vector (a/2)[110] that dissociates as
(ao/2)[10-1] (ao/6)[2-1-1] + (ao/6)[11-2]

- Creating a stacking fault ABCA/CABC

 In FCC systems, an example of Shockley decomposition is:

Which is energetically favorable:

The components of the Shockley Partials must add

up to the original vector that is being decomposed:
A dislocation split into Shockley
partials is still able to glide on the
same glide plane as the perfect
dislocation; the stacking fault just
moves along. It can also change
its length without any problems.
 Dissociation of a Dislocations in FCC
• The combination of the two
partials AC and AD is known
as an extended dislocation

• The region between them is a

stacking fault which has
undergone slip
Dissociation of a dislocation to
• The equilibrium of these partial two partial dislocations
dislocations depends on
the stacking fault energy
• The wider region between
partial dislocations, the
lower stacking fault energy
 Partial Dislocations

A single dislocation dissociates into two

partials forming a stacking fault
Partial dislocations: Dislocation Reaction
• The shortest lattice vectors
are ½[110] and [001]

• According to Frank’s rule, the

energy of a dislocation is
proportional to the square of
the burgers vector, b2

• Compare energy:
- ½[110] dislocations have
energy 2a2/4

- [001] dislocations have

energy a2

• Slip Direction is [110]

b1: unit dislocation b1 & b2: partial dislocations
 Partial Dislocations form Stacking Faults

Dislocations repel while Stacking fault resists

• Stacking Fault Energy γSF

(mJ/m2)
• Ag: 22, Cu: 78, Ni: 128
• Low γSF corresponds to
- a large separation between
the partials
- Hinders partial recombination
- Limits cross-slip
- Easier work hardening
-- SF energy inversely
pro proportional to the separation
be between the partials
 Stacking Faults
• Characteristics of metals with low SFE

- Partial dislocations are widely spaced

- Cross slip difficult
- Easy to strain harden
- Easy for twin annealing to occur
- Copper
-- low stacking fault energy (SFE)
-- cross slip not prevalent
-- temperature dependent flow stress

- Aluminium
-- high SFE
-- more likely to cross
slip
 Frank Partial Dislocations
• A set of (111) planes
(viewed from the edge)
has a missing middle A
plane with a Burgers
vector (a/3) [111]
perpendicular to the
Frank partial dislocation or sessile
central stacking fault dislocation
- called a Frank partial
• In FCC systems, Frank
partials bounding the
vacancy disc defining the
stacking fault are given by:
bFrank = a/3<111>
• They can split as into a perfect dislocation with
b = a/2<110>
 Frank Partial Dislocations

and a Shockley partial with b = a/6<112> as:

bFrank bperfect + bShockley

a/3<111> a/2<110> + a/6<112>

• Frank Partial Dislocations are sessile, or immobile

• Unlike perfect dislocations, Frank partial

dislocations cannot move by glide (sessile
dislocation) but by diffusion of atom

• Frank partial dislocations are another type of

partial dislocations in FCC lattices, which
provide obstacles to the movement of other
dislocations
 Frank Partial Dislocations
• The Shockley partial moves across the loop
removing the stacking fault by a process called
"unfaulting"
• The perfect dislocation (loop) is free to move
and take part in the process of slip
• The Shockley dislocation, once formed, will move
quickly over the loop - pulled by the stacking fault
like by a tense rubber sheet
• The driving force for the reaction is the stacking fault
energy
• As the loop increases in size because more and more
vacancies are added and the radius r grows, the
energy of the loop increases with r2 due to the
stacking fault
• The energy of the dislocation line increases with r no
matter what kind of dislocation is bounding the loop
 Lomer-Cortrell Barrier
Lomer-Cotrell
Intersection of {111} barrier
planes during duplex slip
by glide of dislocations is
called Lomer-Cortrell
barrier
Example:
- Consider two perfect
dislocations lying in different {111} planes
and both parallel to the line of intersection
of the {111} plane
- Lets look at the reaction between two perfect
dislocations on different glide planes which are
split into Shockley partials, e.g. with the
(perfect) Burgers vectors
b1 = a/2 [–1,1,0] on the (111) plane
b = a/2 [101] on the (–1,1,1) plane as follows:
 Lomer-Cortrell Barrier
Lomer-Cotrell
(ao/2)[101] + (ao/2)[-110] (ao/2)[011] barrier

b1 + b2 b3
From energy consideration, Stacking fault
b12 + b22 > b32

- The new dislocation obtained has reduced energy

i.e. ½ + ½ > ½ i.e. favourable

• The two Shockley partials meeting first will

always react to form a dislocation with the
Burgers vector bLC = (a/6) [011]

• This is a new type of Burgers vector. A

dislocation with this Burges vector is called a
Lomer-Cotrell dislocation
 Lomer–Cotrell and Stair-Rod Dislocations
• A Lomer-Cotrell dislocation borders two stacking
faults on two different {111} planes

• It is utterly (completely) immobile, makes plastic

deformation more difficult and acts as a hardening
mechanism

• The total structure resulting from the reaction – a

Lomer-Cotrell dislocation (at the tip of two stacking
fault ribbons bordered on the other side by Shockley
partials) - is called a stair-rod dislocation because it is
reminiscent of the "stair-rod" that keeps the carpet
ribbons in place that are coming down a stair.

• Lomer-Cotrell dislocation being sessile in nature is

also known as Lomer-Cotrell barrier/lock
Group of stacking fault in 302 stainless steel stopped at boundary
• In many instances, some kind of (stacking
fault) ribbon occurs stretching through the
crystal in place of a pure one-dimensional
defect (perfect dislocation)

• The stacking fault ribbon may be constricted

at some knots or jogs forming a constriction

Cross sectional view of the

constriction
 Thompson Tetrahedron
• There are now many possible dislocation
reactions

• In writing down reaction equations, one must

use the specific Burgers vector
(e.g. a/6[1-21]) and not the general type
(a/6<112> for example)

• This can be cumbersome and is prone to

produce errors

• The Thompson tetrahedron is an extremely

useful tool for fcc lattices to keep the vectors in
line
 Thompson Tetrahedron
• A tetrahedron formed by the {111} planes with
consistently indexed planes and edges
• Shockley Partials and Frank Partials can
combine to form a Thompson Tetrahedron, or
a stacking fault tetrahedron
• Presents the Notation for all slip
planes, directions, and partials
• Tetrahedron edges (red lines)
i.e. <110> directions
- Burgers vectors of the perfect
(unit) dislocations

• The triangle faces i.e. {111} planes

- Potential stacking faults formed by Shockley
and Frank partial dislocations
 Thompson Tetrahedron
• Vectors running from the
center of the triangular faces
to the corners (blue lines)
- Shockley partials
• Line joining the center of
the triangular faces
with the center of the
tetrahedron
- Frank partials
 Thompson Tetrahedron

• Conventional to enumerate
- Vertices of the triangle faces of the tetrahedron
by A,B,C,D : AB, BC, CD, AD have Burgers vectors ½ <110>
- Centers of their triangles correspond to the Greek symbols
of the vertices opposite to them e.g. α,β,γ and δ for
triangles BCD, ACD, ABD and ABC respectively
- These symbols represent the faulted atomic positions like
Aδ, Bδ etc. having burgers vectors 1/6 <112>
 Thompson Tetrahedron

Construction of the Thompson tetrahedron

 Stacking Fault Tetrahedra

• Special forms of point defect agglomerates

• Form when Frank partials bonding a vacancy

disc have a rather high energy
(b = a/3 [111], b2 = a2/3) compared to a
Shockley partial (b2 = a2/6) or Lomer-Cotrell
dislocation (b2 = a2/18), which also can bound
stacking faults
 Dislocations in HCP Lattice
• Slip occurs in the HCP lattice on the basal
(0001) plane in the <11-20> directions
• The basal (0001) plane is the close packed plane
of a sequence ABABAB
• The unit dislocation in the basal plane has a
Burgers vector b = ao/3 [11-20]

• Dislocations in the basal plane can reduce their

energy by dissociating into Shockley partials
according to the reaction
ao/3 [11-20] ao/3 [11-10] + ao/3 [01-10]
b32 > b12 + b22 ; 6/9 > 3/9 + 2/9
• The stacking fault produced by this reaction lies
in the basal plane, and the extended dislocations
formed is confined to glide in this plane
 Dislocations in BCC Lattice
• Slip occurs in the BCC lattice on {110},
{112}, {123} planes in the <111> direction
• The unit dislocation has a Burgers vector
b = ao/2 [111]
• Cottrell has suggested a dislocation reaction
which appears to cause immobile dislocations
with Burgers vector ao/2 [001] in iron leading
to a crack nucleus formation mechanism for
brittle fracture
ao/2 [-1-11] + ao/2 [111] ao [001]
• The dislocation is immobile
since the (001) is not a close-
packed slip plane, the (001)
plane is therefore the cleavage
plane where brittle fracture
Dislocations in BCC Lattice

Slip on intersecting (110) plane.

 Oscillation of Dislocations
• Imagine an oscillating force acting on a bcc
• The screw dislocation will follow the stress
and oscillate between two bowed out positions

• As long as the maximum stresses are small

compared to the critical stress needed to induce
large scale movement, the process should be
completely reversible
 Oscillation of Dislocations
• Due to the asymmetry between forward and
backward movement, there is a certain
probability that once in a while the screw
dislocation switches glide planes. It then may
move for a large distance inducing some
deformation

• In due time, things change irreversibly leading

to a sudden failure called "fatigue". This is
only one mechanism for fatigue and only serves
to demonstrate the basic concept of long-time
changes in materials under load due to details in
the dislocation structure of materials
 Resolved Shear Stress
• Dislocations can be moved by
applying shear stress
• Applied force F = σ.Ao
• Applied tensile stress σ = F/Ao
• Component of force in the slip
direction =
• Area of slip surface A1= Ao/cos φ Tensile axis
• Schmid’s Law
- Relates the uniaxial stress and resulting
resolved shear stress produced on a slip
system as
where τ is the shear stress resolved on the slip
plane in the slip direction

• Schmid Factor : cos φ . cos λ

 Critical Resolved Shear Stress
• τCRSS

- The minimum shear stress required to begin

plastic deformation or slip on a slip plane and
slip direction
- Equivalent to yield shear stress of a material
- Temperature, strain rate and material dependent
- The system on which slip occurs has the largest
Schmid factor i.e. cos φ . cos λ thus making the

shear stress needed to be the minmum (τCRSS)

- cos φ . cos λ becomes the maximum when

λ=Φ=45°
- The minimum stress to begin yielding then is
σ=2τCRSS
 Deformation Mechanism
- With increasing load, the slip plane and slip
direction align parallel to the tensile stress axis

- The tensile axis rotates toward the slip direction

- The slip direction rotates away from the

compressive axis during compression

- A second slip system gets activated because it

has an equivalent Schmid factor
 Rotation of Crystal Lattice under an Applied Load

• Initial elastic strain results from bond

stretching (obeys Hooke’s Law)

• Stage I (easy glide) results from slip on one

slip system

• Multiple slip systems are active during stage II

- A second slip system becomes active when
it’s Schmid factor increases to the value of
the primary slip system

- In some extreme orientations of HCP crystals,

the material fractures rather than deforms
plastically