Size-dependent energy in crystal plasticity and continuum dislocation models

What is it about?

In metals with small crystalline grains, interfaces dominate the plastic deformation making it size-dependent, which implies the existence of intrinsic material length(s). Most proposed theories are phenomenological, failing to address the physical nature of material length(s), but a few recent ones start from the physics of microscale deformation. The fundamental problem is the formulation of the size-dependent energy. We derive this energy from the microscale physics with clearly identifiable material lengths.

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Why is it important?

We discover that phenomenological formulations have limitations, as they are unable to represent the multiplicity of material lengths, which has a strong effect on interface plasticity.