Random Generation of Lattice Structures with Short-Range Order

Thermodynamically driven short-range order (SRO) is known to exist in multi-component alloys and can influence their mechanical properties. Atomistic and mesoscale simulations are frequently used to study the effects of SRO, but introducing SRO into the lattice usually requires costly Monte Carlo simulations. Here, we develop a novel method and open-source code to create lattices with specified SRO parameters that can be used as inputs to simulations to study the interaction of SRO with dislocations or other deformation mechanisms. The method, order through informed swapping (OTIS), uses a statistical smart swapping procedure to create lattices with known SRO parameters from an initially random lattice. We illustrate the use of OTIS on ternary and quinary equimolar alloys to create both BCC and FCC lattices with hundreds of thousands of atoms. The computation time and size scaling are discussed. As an example application of the method, the generated SRO lattices are incorporated into a phase-field dislocation dynamics to study dislocation loop growth.