Continuum framework for dislocation structure, energy and dynamics of dislocation arrays and low angle grain boundaries

We present a continuum framework for dislocation structure, energy and dynamics of dislocation arrays and low angle grain boundaries that are allowed to be nonplanar or nonequilibrium. In our continuum framework, we define a dislocation density potential function on the dislocation array surface or grain boundary to describe the orientation dependent continuous distribution of dislocations in a very simple and accurate way. The continuum formulations incorporate both the long-range dislocation interaction and the local dislocation line energy, and are derived from the discrete dislocation model. The continuum framework recovers the classical Read–Shockley energy formula when the long-range elastic fields of the low angle grain boundaries are canceled out. Applications of our continuum framework in this paper are focused on dislocation structures on static planar and nonplanar low angle grain boundaries and misfitting interfaces. We present two methods under our continuum framework for this purpose, including the method based on the Frank׳s formula and the energy minimization method. We show that for any (planar or nonplanar) low angle grain boundary, the Frank׳s formula holds if and only if the long-range stress field in the continuum model is canceled out, and it does not necessarily hold for a total energy minimum dislocation structure.