A dislocation nucleation criterion, based upon continuum thermomechanical considerations of a crystalline solid undergoing deformation, was presented. The ability of this criterion to predict correctly dislocation nucleation via direct atomistic simulation was demonstrated. It was shown that the concept of a nucleation criterion based upon the magnitude of local stress components was incorrect.

A Stress-Gradient Based Criterion for Dislocation Nucleation in Crystals. R.E.Ronald, E.Miller, A.Acharya: Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 2004, 52[7], 1507-25