Thermally Activated Dislocation Motion Including Inertial Effects in Solid Solutions

摘要

Dislocation motion through an array of obstacles is considered in terms of the potential energy of the dislocation as it moves through the array. The obstacles form a series of potential wells and barriers which can trap the dislocations. The effect of thermal fluctuations and of a viscous drag on the motion of the dislocation is investigated by analogy with Brownian motion in a field of force. The rate of escape of a trapped dislocation is found to depend on the damping coefficient only for a large viscous drag. The probability that a dislocation will be trapped by a well or barrier is found to depend on the damping coefficient for a small viscous drag. This inertial effect determines how far a dislocation will travel after breaking away from an obstacle. (ERA citation 03:016170)