Abstract
A computer simulation was performed to examine the role of extrinsic grain-boundary (GB) defects in the sliding of the {11, (101){131} symmetric tilt boundary in aluminium by means of an embedded-atom method potential. The sliding resistance of the equilibrium GB was determined from a computation of the dependence of the boundary energy on in-plane translation of one grain relative to the other. Low-energy faulted structures were found that correspond to unstable intermediate states and the presence of stable partial GB dislocations. Extrinsic dislocations and disconnections were found to lower significantly the sliding stress relative to the equilibrium GB.
