Atomistic modeling of different loading paths in single crystal copper and aluminum

Abstract

Utilizing molecular dynamics (MD) integration model we have investigated some of the relevant physical processes caused by different loading paths at the atomic level in Cu and Al monocrystal specimen. Interactions among the atoms in the bulk are modeled with the standard realistic Embedded Atom Method (EAM) potentials. MD simulation gives us the detailed information about non-equilibrium dynamics including crystal structure defects, vacancies and dislocations. In particular, we have obtained result that indicate increase in the total energy of the crystal during loading (especially cyclic) that provides us direct quantitative evidence of the metal weakening. For the basic response, we have deformed copper and aluminum single crystal according to the simple loading path and a series of multiaxial loading-paths including cyclic repetition. We compute equivalent stress-strain diagrams as well as dislocation total length vs time graphs to describe signatures of the anisotropic response of the crystal.