Output details
13 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials
University of Oxford
Frank-Read sources and the yield of anisotropic cubic crystals
A problem originally considered by deWit and Koehler in the 1950s is solved via a method that exposes the emergence of dislocation instabilities at high anisotropy. Remarkably for a continuum approach, a microstructure featuring sharp corners is predicted, which has subsequently been confirmed in several TEM studies. The model predicts and explains the observed mechanical properties of alpha-Fe at high temperatures that is critical for the application of ferritic alloys in future nuclear power plant. The mathematical formalism for handling instabilities and sharp corners also applies to many other systems with orientation-dependent interface energies, e.g. ferroelectric liquid crystals.
