The Role of Homogeneous Nucleation in Planar Dynamic Discrete Dislocation Plasticity

Homogeneous nucleation of dislocations is the dominant dislocation generation mechanism at strain rates above 108 s−1; at those rates, homogeneous nucleation dominates the plastic relaxation of shock waves in the same way that Frank–Read sources control the onset of plastic flow at low strain rates. This article describes the implementation of homogeneous nucleation in dynamic discrete dislocation plasticity (D3P), a planar method of discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) that offers a complete elastodynamic treatment of plasticity. The implemented methodology is put to the test by studying four materials—Al, Fe, Ni, and Mo—that are shock loaded with the same intensity and a strain rate of 1010 s−1. It is found that, even for comparable dislocation densities, the lattice shear strength is fundamental in determining the amount of plastic relaxation a material displays when shock loaded.