A dislocation dynamics theory was developed for the formation of dipole dislocation patterns during cyclic plastic deformation by single glide. The stochastic dislocation dynamics which were used could account, in terms of a fluctuating effective medium, for the effects of long-range dislocation interactions at the mesoscopic scale. The theory could explain the occurrence of a matrix structure, and of persistent slip bands, as a result of evolutionary processes. It also furnished the intrinsic strain amplitudes and the characteristic wavelengths of these structures, and permitted an explanation to be given for the structural changes that were associated with changes in the deformation conditions. It was found that the quantitative results were in good agreement with experimental observations.

P.Hähner: Applied Physics A, 1996, 63[1], 45-55