It was recalled that, during the later stages of plastic deformation, strain-hardening of face-centered cubic metals was associated with the formation of cellular dislocation patterns at various scales. An analysis was presented here of the fractal geometry of such dislocation structures. A theoretical model was developed, according to which dislocation cell formation was associated with a noise-induced structural transition far from equilibrium. The observed fractal dimensions were correlated with stochastic dislocation glide processes.

Fractal Dislocation Patterning during Plastic Deformation P.Hähner, K.Bay, M.Zaiser: Physical Review Letters, 1998, 81[12], 2470-3