A geometrical analysis of 3D dislocation dynamics simulations of face-centered cubic micro-pillar plasticity showed that the insertion of jogged dislocations before relaxation or enabling cross-slip during plastic flow were prerequisites for the formation of potentially strong natural pinning points and single arm dislocation sources. Absent these conditions, it was argued that mobile dislocation starvation would occur naturally in the course of plastic flow and lead to a state in which plastic flow was controlled by the nucleation of dislocations, most likely at the free surfaces.

Geometrical Analysis of 3D Dislocation Dynamics Simulations of FCC Micro-Pillar Plasticity. S.W.Lee, W.D.Nix: Materials Science and Engineering A, 2010, 527[7-8], 1903-10