Dislocation core structure and motion in pure titanium and titanium alloys: A first-principles study

The deformation mode of some Ti alloys differs from that of pure Ti due to the presence of alloying elements in α-phase. We investigated all possible slip modes in pure Ti and the effects of Al and V solutes as typical additive elements on the dislocation motion in α-Ti alloys using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The energy landscape of the transition between all possible dislocation core structures and the barriers for dislocation glide in various slip planes clarified the nature of dislocation motion in pure Ti; i) the energy of prismatic core is higher than most stable pyramidal core, and thereby dislocations need to overcome the energy barrier of the cross-slip (22.8 meV/b) when they move in the prismatic plane, ii) the energy difference between the prismatic and basal cores is larger (127 meV/b), that indicates the basal slip does not activate, iii) however, the Peierls barrier for motion in the basal plane is not as high once the dislocation exists stably in the basal plane. Direct calculations for the dislocation core around solutes revealed that both Al and V solutes facilitate dislocation motion in the basal plane by reducing the energy difference between the prismatic and basal cores.