Anisotropic plasticity with embedded-atom potentials

Embedded-atom potentials are a useful supplement to pair potentials in the modelling of defects and metal plasticity. Here we emphasize the steady isothermal shear deformation of two-dimensional models made up of many interacting grains. The embedded-atom-plus-pairs potential can provide very anisotropic grains, which are oriented by the shear deformation. We simulate plastic shear deformation, at fixed density and temperature, with the Sllod and Doll's-Tensor algorithms. We explore the temperature-dependent elastic and plastic moduli for two relatively anisotropic models with static anisotropicities similar to those of the coinage and alkali metals. In both cases the flow stress is relatively insensitive to strain rate at moderate strain rates. At high strain rates shear bands develop.