Twenty-one <110> symmetrical tilt boundaries were investigated by means of atomistic simulations, using an embedded-atom method potential for a low stacking-fault energy face-centered cubic metal. Lattice statics simulations, with a large number of initial configurations, were used to identify equilibrium and metastable structures at 0K. The stability of the structures at high temperatures was investigated by means of Monte Carlo annealing. A form of grain boundary dissociation was identified in a number of boundaries. These structures were used to develop a dislocation model for grain boundary dissociation via stacking-fault emission. An attempt was also made to apply the structural unit model to the simulated boundaries, and problems were identified that were likely to be encountered with regard to grain boundary structures in metals with low stacking fault energies.

J.D.Rittner, D.N.Seidman: Physical Review B, 1996, 54[10], 6999-7015