A computational method for the multiscale modelling of plasticity was described in which each dislocation was treated as being either an atomistic or continuum entity, within a single computational framework. The method divided space into atomistic and continuum regions that communicated across a coherent boundary, detected dislocations as they approached the boundary and easily converted them from one description to the other. The method permitted the study of problems that were too large for fully atomistic simulation, while preserving accurate atomistic details where necessary. It was presently limited to 2-dimensional situations.

Coupled Atomistic and Discrete Dislocation Plasticity. L.E.Shilkrot, R.E.Miller, W.A.Curtin: Physical Review Letters, 2002, 89[2], 025501 (4pp)