ArealGlide is a tool that simulates the glide of a single dislocation through a point-like obstacles distributed on the glide plane.
As input it takes the location of the obstacles, as well as their respective breaking angles. It outputs the position of the dislocation at each step, and the final normalized critical resolved shear stress.
############################ COMPILATION ###############################
In order to compile the Areal Glide Model, one needs GCC. If you are using Windows, you will need to use Cygwin, and compile the code from a Cygwin terminal.
To compile, simply run: g++ main.cpp -o areal
This should create an executable file called areal.
################################ USE ###################################
The Areal Glide model uses a single input file. This file is a simple text file containing three columns of numbers (divided by a single space)
Each line of the input file corresponds to a single obstacle. Thus, the number of lines corresponds to the number of obstacles in the box.
The first column contains the normalized x position of the obstacle (between 0 and 1). The second column contains the normalized y position of the obstacle (between 0 and 1). The third column contains the breaking angle of the obstacle expressed in radians.
If the input file is called input.xy0, to run the model, simply run: ./areal -i test.xy0 -o test.out
As the simulation is running, no output will appear on the terminal, however, it will create a file (called test.out here or whatever you name it) which contains the list of obstacles pinning the dislocation at each steps, and the normalized shear stress associated with the passage to this very step. This file could be used to visualize the glide of the dislocation step by step during post-processing.
At the end of the simulation, the model will output a single line in the standard output (terminal) similar to the following example: The simulation ended correctly: CRSS=0.000764182
It indicates that the simulation was successful, and also the value of the normalized critical shear stress obtained (here 0.000764182)
One could also ask this output to be stored in a file as follows: ./areal -i test.xy0 -o test.out >> test.log
Thus, once the simulation is complete, no output will appear on the standard output (terminal), but the file test.log will be created and will contain the line: The simulation ended correctly: CRSS=0.000764182
####################### GENERATOR OF INPUT FILES #######################
The folder Obstacle_Generators/Random contains two generators of input files for the areal glide model.
The first one, contained in Obstacle_Generators/Random/Single_or_multiple_sets can create distributions of 1 or multiple sets of obstacles, each set having the same breaking angle. In order to compile this generator, type: g++ main.cpp -o random
It will create an executable called random. To use it, do: ./random -n number_of_obstacles -o input.xy0
and follow the instructions. In return, it will create an input file called input.xy0 containing number_of_obstacles obstacles.
The second one, contained in Obstacle_Generators/Random/Strength_distribution can create a single set of obstacles whose strength follows a log-normal distribution.
To compile this generator, you will need a version of GCC which supports the TR1 standard. typically GCC-3.2.3 and later versions. Compile it as follows: g++ main.cpp -o random_with_strength_distribution
And run it as follows: ./random_with_strength_distribution -n number_of_obstacles -o input.xy0
and follow the instructions. In return, it will create an input file called input.xy0 containing number_of_obstacles obstacles.
########################### POST-PROCESSING ############################
If one wants to see step by step the glide of the dislocation through the array of obstacles, one could use the MATLAB code located in the Visualization folder.
The main function is contained in extract_stable_configuration.m
It is used the following way: stepleap=1000 # Number of steps to leap during randering (1 to visualize all steps) doplot=1 # if =1, the evolution will be plotted in MATLAB. If =0 no visual output occurs in MATLAB dosave=1 # if =1, the visualization will be saved in jpeg files. =0 to not save extract_stable_configuration('../test',stepleap,doplot,dosave)
It is important that the input file and the output file differ only by their extension, i.e: test.xy0 and test.out, or thing.xy0 and thing.out, for example.