Fig. 5
Generalized stacking fault (GSF) and dislocation dissociation energies. a Plot depicting the variation of fault energy with planar displacement along 〈11\(\bar 2\)0〉α in pure Mg, Mg–Nd, and Mg–Nd–Zn. Bottom inset figures show two views of the orthogonal cell used in the calculations. Stacking fault energy corresponds to the first minima of the GSF energy curves. Addition of Zn to Mg–Nd further reduces SFE by ~17%. b Histogram comparing the energy required to dissociate a perfect (1/2) 〈\(11\bar 20\)〉α dislocation into two (1/3) 〈1\(\bar 1\)00〉α partials for pure Mg, Mg–Nd, and Mg–Nd–Zn alloys. Adding Zn to Mg–Nd increases the dissociation energy by ~20%. Out-of-plane vacancy migration energies, also indicated in the same plot, are also significantly larger than the dissociation energies
