A Proof of Taylor Scaling for Curvature-Driven Dislocation Motion Through Random Arrays of Obstacles

We prove Taylor scaling for dislocation lines characterized by line-tension and moving by curvature under the action of an applied shear stress in a plane containing a random array of obstacles. Specifically, we show—in the sense of optimal scaling—that the critical applied shear stress for yielding, or percolation-like unbounded motion of the dislocation, scales in proportion to the square root of the obstacle density. For sufficiently small obstacle densities, Taylor scaling dominates the linear-scaling that results from purely energetic considerations and, therefore, characterizes the dominant rate-limiting mechanism in that regime.