STP · Scale Transitions in Plasticity

Plastic behavior of crystals is caused by the motion of dislocations. While it is now possible to computationally model the behavior of individual dislocations and their interaction, the large number of these defects in a macroscopic specimen requires a multi-scale approach. The goal of this project is to better understand the passage from atomistic to continuum models as well as to explore the link between non-convexity in continuum plasticity models and the formation of dislocation patterns. Ultimately, we want to develop efficient algorithms to model the plastic behavior of polycrystals, taking into account but not resolving on the microscopic scale the effect of the propagation and locking of dislocations.