Kinetics of dislocations in pure Fe. Part I. In situ straining experiments at room temperature

In situ straining experiments have been carried out in pure Fe, in order to determine the geometry and the kinetics of dislocation glide at room temperature. Straight screw dislocations glide slowly in {1 1 0} elemental slip planes, at a velocity proportional to their length, whereas curved non-screw parts are highly mobile. The exact loop shape can yield the local stress as well as the difference of core energy between pure screw and near-screw orientations. The velocity-stress dependence of screws has been measured at the scale of a single dislocation source, and compared with macroscopic activation areas. The results are discussed in terms of the kink-pair mechanism. (C) 2010 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.