Aspects of boundary-value problem solutions with three-dimensional dislocation dynamics

A three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics plasticity model is presented. The approach allows realistic boundary conditions on the specimen, as both stress and displacement fields of the dislocations are incorporated in the formulation. Emphasis is placed on various technical details in the formulation as well as on the implementation. The current implementation includes features necessary to model conservative motion of dislocations in presence of surfaces. These include details of the discretization of the evolving dislocation structure, the handling of junction formation and destruction, cross-slip and boundary conditions. Special attention is given to the treatment of dislocations that partly glide out of the material, including the treatment of image forces via the finite-element method.