The equations of dislocation kinetics were used to compare quantitatively the formation and evolution mechanisms (with deformation) of cellular dislocation structures at moderate strains, and of sub-micron block dislocation structures at high plastic strains. In both cases, the formation of non-uniform dislocation structures was the result of dislocation self-organization. This included, in particular, the self-organization of statistically random dislocations during the formation of cellular structures and the self-organization of geometrically necessary dislocations (which appeared to be due to the non-uniform nature of plastic deformation at the micron-scale) during the formation of block structures.

Analysis of the Parameters of a Submicron Dislocation Structure in Metals Subjected to Severe Plastic Deformation. G.A.Malygin: Physics of the Solid State, 2004, 46[11], 2035-41