Dislocation Motion Controlled by the Peierls Mechanism

Abstract

Reflecting the periodicity of the crystal lattice, any dislocation in any crystal has its own intrinsic resistance to glide, because the self-energy of the dislocation changes with the periodicity of the lattice. This periodic potential energy with respect to the dislocation position is called the Peierls potential, after the researcher who first estimated this potential theoretically for a simple model [5.1]. The stress necessary for the dislocation to surmount this potential, without the aid of thermal energy, is called the Peierls stress. This chapter is concerned with theoretical treatments of the dislocation glide controlled by the Peierls potential.