Events
Place: DPG Spring Meeting 2009, Dresden, Germany
Johann von Pezold
Liverios Lymperakis, Düsseldorf, Germany
Jörg Neugebauer
The embrittlement of metals by H is a long-standing problem, whose underlying mechanisms are still largely unclear. Here we consider the atomistic basis of the HELP mechanism, which asserts that H mobilises dislocations by shielding elastic dislocation-dislocation interactions.
Using a combination of density-functional theory calculations,
semiempirical EAM potentials and an effective lattice gas Hamiltonian
we determine the effect of H on the stress field around edge dislocations
in fcc metals. The density of the H distribution around the dislocation
core is determined by the H-H interaction: weak H-H interactions
give rise to a dilute H distribution, while attractive H-H interactions
entail a dense H distribution. The stress field around the dislocation
in the presence of a dilute and a dense H distribution is used to critically
discuss the H-induced shielding effect postulated by the HELP
mechanism.