A theoretical model was suggested which described the decay of low-angle grain boundaries in deformed nanocrystalline material. Within the framework of the model, lattice dislocations that formed a low-angle boundary were under the action of forces due to external (applied) and internal stresses. The balance of these forces governed the critical shear stress at which a low-angle boundary decayed. Such decay processes resulted in the formation of high-density ensembles of mobile lattice dislocations that were capable of inducing plastic flow localization (shear banding) into mechanically loaded nanocrystalline materials.

Decay of Low-Angle Tilt Boundaries in Deformed Nanocrystalline Materials. S.V.Bobylev, M.Y.Gutkin, I.A.Ovidko: Journal of Physics D, 2004, 37[2], 269-72