Mesoscopic simulations of dislocations and plasticity

This paper reviews the three-dimensional simulations of dislocation dynamics and interactions at the mesoscopic scale. The simulation technique is briefly sketched and examples of applications are shown. A distinction is made between situations where uniform dislocation structures result from core properties (Ni3Al) and situations where dislocation interactions leads to pattern formation (f.c.c. crystals). Limitations and potentialities of the method are discussed.