Atomic-scale study of dislocation glide in a model solid solution

Based on atomic-scale simulation techniques, we study the dislocation pinning mechanism in a dilute Ni(Al) model solid solution. For a solute concentration between 1 and 10 at.% , we found that the pinning of the dislocation on obstacles made of Al pairs is an interaction that operates significantly. The statistics of the dislocation motion is then modified accordingly to the nature of the obstacles and follows modified Mott–Nabarro statistics. Finally, a method to address thermal activation is proposed and exemplified on a periodic row of solute pairs.