The interaction between an edge dislocation and a void in Cu was investigated by means of a molecular dynamics simulation. The de-pinning stresses of the leading partial and of the trailing partial show qualitatively different behaviors. The de-pinning stress of the trailing partial increased logarithmically with the void radius, while that of the leading partial behaves in a different manner due to the interaction between two partials. The pinning angle, which characterizes the obstacle strength, approaches zero when the void radius exceeds 3nm. No temperature dependence was found in the critical stress and the critical angle. This was attributed to an absence of climb motion. It was also found that the distance between the void center and a glide plane asymmetrically affects the pinning strength.

Molecular Dynamics Investigation of Dislocation Pinning by a Nanovoid in Copper. T.Hatano, H.Matsui: Physical Review B, 2005, 72[9], 094105 (8pp)