A parallel algorithm for 3D dislocation dynamics

Dislocation dynamics (DD), a discrete dynamic simulation method in which dislocations are the fundamental entities, is a powerful tool for investigation of plasticity, deformation and fracture of materials at the micron length scale. However, severe computational difficulties arising from complex, long-range interactions between these curvilinear line defects limit the application of DD in the study of large-scale plastic deformation. We present here the development of a parallel algorithm for accelerated computer simulations of DD. By representing dislocations as a 3D set of dislocation particles, we show here that the problem of an interacting ensemble of dislocations can be converted to a problem of a particle ensemble, interacting with a long-range force field. A grid using binary space partitioning is constructed to keep track of node connectivity across domains. We demonstrate the computational efficiency of the parallel micro-plasticity code and discuss how O(N) methods map naturally onto the parallel data structure. Finally, we present results from applications of the parallel code to deformation in single crystal fcc metals. 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.