Dislocations and plasticity in ice

Possible dislocation Burgers vectors and core structures in ice are discussed, and compared with those in crystals with closely related structures such as semiconductors. Theoretical expressions for dislocation velocities are given, on the basis of microscopic mechanisms in dislocation cores, implicitly including the possible role of protonic disorder and core reconstruction. Macroscopic plastic properties are then examined, such as, for instance, the stress dependence of the strain rate, discussed in terms of dislocation density evolution, and the scale invariance of dislocation avalanches, as shown by acoustic emission. To cite this article: F. Louchet, C. R. Physique 5 (2004).