Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science
MSU Affiliation
James Worth Bagley College of Engineering; Michael W. Hall School of Mechanical Engineering; Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems; Center for Computational Sciences
Major
Mechanical Engineering
Research Mentor
Christopher Barrett
Creation Date
7-27-2026
Abstract
Magnesium is the lightest structural metal, and its strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios give it great potential for weight reduction in various industries. However, it is brittle at room temperature due to its crystal structure, making it unfit for the manufacture of parts requiring stamping or rolling. Our research is concerned with the movement of defects critical to the ductility of magnesium under different conditions. In this project, we investigated the movement of a Pyramidal Il edge dislocation in magnesium structures undergoing shear and oscillatory stress. We hypothesize that oscillating stress could help the dislocation move more quickly. This would suggest that vibrations could be applied in addition to forming stress during forming processes to improve the ductility of Magnesium. We made use of machine-learned interatomic potentials to predict the behavior of our magnesium structures while undergoing shear and oscillating stress. We performed these simulations with the Large- scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS) software package and visualized our results in OVITO. Our early results show the dislocation moving faster when an oscillating stress is applied.
Presentation Date
Summer 7-30-2026
Keywords
magnesium, metal defects
Recommended Citation
Emenike, Chimereze and Barrett, Christopher, "Simulation of Magnesium Defects under Concurrent Stress and Vibration using Interatomic Potentials" (2026). Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science. 22.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/ccs-reu/22
