Plasticity of metal wires in torsion: Molecular dynamics and dislocation dynamics simulations

The orientation dependent plasticity in metal nanowires is investigated using molecular dynamics and dislocation dynamics simulations. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the orientation of single crystal metal wires controls the mechanisms of plastic deformation. For wires oriented along 〈110〉, dislocations nucleate along the axis of the wire, making the deformation homogeneous. These wires also maintain most of their strength after yield. In contrast, wires oriented along 〈111〉 and 〈100〉 directions deform through the formation of twist boundaries and tend not to recover when high angle twist boundaries are formed. The stability of the dislocation structures observed in molecular dynamics simulations are investigated using analytical and dislocation dynamics models.