Modelling multiscale plasticity: A thermostatistical approach

Plastic deformation in single crystals, coarse-grained polycrystals, micrometric dislocation cells and nanotwinned structures are all described with a single formulation. The statistical entropy associated with the dislocation paths available for slip and twinning features strongly in the solution, allowing for the description of stress–strain relationships as a function of strain and strain rate, for very wide temperature ranges. The model is applied to determine the characteristic plastic behaviour across the scales for pure copper.