Stage character of cluster formation in metal specimens in electrothermal pulse dispersion

In the work, the dispersion of metal specimens on high-rate heating was studied at the microlevel. The calculations were performed in the framework of the molecular dynamics method with the use of many-body interatomic potentials. It is shown that the electrothermal pulse dispersion has a pronounced stage character. It is pointed out that the processes responsible for evaporation and collision of clusters are much more intense than those of precipitation. Study into the effect of the thermal loading intensity on the dispersion dynamics shows that increasing the heating temperature causes a decrease in the average size of clusters and an increase in their number.