Grain boundary dynamics of SiC bicrystals under shear deformation

The dynamics of SiC grain boundaries under shear are characterized using molecular dynamics simulations. At low-temperatures, low-angle grain boundaries exhibit stick-slip behavior due to athermal climb of edge dislocations along the grain boundary. With increasing temperature stick-slip becomes less pronounced due to dislocation glide, and at high-temperatures, structural disordering of the low-angle grain boundary inhibits stick-slip. In contrast, structural disordering of the high-angle grain boundary is induced under shear even at low temperatures, resulting in a significantly dampened stick-slip behavior. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.