Under mechanical deformation of very high strain rates, it was expected that dislocations may move very fast (being subsonic, transonic, or even supersonic). As a result, two dislocations may approach each other at high velocities. Earlier analyses of linear elasticity had indicated that a dipole was destabilized when the approaching velocity was high enough; even below the speed of sound. By using the molecular dynamics method, it was demonstrated that a dipole could be destabilized above a critical velocity, and stable below it.

Destabilization of Dislocation Dipole at High Velocity. J.Wang, C.H.Woo, H.Huang: Applied Physics Letters, 2001, 79[22], 3621-3