Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Fluctuations in crystalline plasticity

This theoretical physics paper reviews the statistical patterns of intermittent plastic deformation events—called dislocation avalanches—in crystalline metals at the micro- and nanoscale. The term 'microplastic' here refers to a materials science concept about deformation behavior, not environmental plastic particles.

2021 Comptes Rendus Physique 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Nontrivial scaling exponents of dislocation avalanches in microplasticity

This physics study analyzed the statistical patterns of small-scale deformation events (dislocation avalanches) in metals to test theoretical models of material plasticity. The research is in materials physics and is not related to environmental microplastics.

2018 Physical Review Materials 41 citations
Clinical Trial Tier 1

Non-universal behavior of intermittent flow in microplasticity

Microcompression experiments on single-crystal metals revealed that dislocation avalanche behavior during plastic deformation is not universal as some theories predicted, but instead depends significantly on crystal structure, loading orientation, and drive rate. The power-law scaling exponents varied across conditions, spanning values predicted by competing theoretical models.

2019 IDEALS (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Article Tier 2

Intermittent microplasticity in the presence of a complex microstructure

Researchers investigated intermittent microplasticity -- the jerky, avalanche-like nature of plastic deformation at small scales -- in Al-Cu binary alloys with varying microstructural complexity, demonstrating a gradual transition from scale-free power-law statistics to scale-dependent exponential distributions as incoherent precipitates are introduced, with non-Gaussian dislocation interactions persisting across different microstructures.

2022 Physical Review Materials 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Independence of Slip Velocities on Applied Stress in Small Crystals

This physics study examined the velocities at which crystal slip events occur during plastic deformation of tiny metal crystals, finding they are independent of applied stress over a wide range. This is a condensed matter physics study on metal deformation with no relevance to environmental microplastics.

2014 Small 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Discontinuous yielding of pristine micro-crystals

This theoretical physics paper develops a model for crystal deformation in dislocation-free materials. While not related to environmental science or microplastics, the work contributes to materials science research on plastic deformation at the microscale.

2021 Comptes Rendus Physique 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Variety of scaling behaviors in nanocrystalline plasticity

This is a materials science study examining the variety of scaling behaviors observed in nanocrystalline plasticity, exploring how grain size affects deformation mechanisms in metals. It is not related to environmental microplastics.

2020 Physical review. E 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Grain Boundary Sliding in Texture Evolution for Nanoplasticity

This materials science paper presents a crystal plasticity model for how grain boundary sliding affects texture evolution in nanocrystalline metals under large deformation. It is a technical metallurgy study with no connection to microplastics or environmental health.

2017 Advanced Engineering Materials 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Scaling in the Local Strain-Rate Field during Jerky Flow in an Al-3%Mg Alloy

This physics paper investigates microscale deformation patterns and scale invariance in aluminum alloy plasticity. It is a materials science study with no relevance to environmental microplastics or human health.

2020 Metals 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Viscosity and transport in a model fragile metallic glass

This paper uses the term 'microplasticity' in the context of metallic glass physics, describing how thermally activated atomic movements drive deformation in amorphous metals at the microscale. This is a materials physics paper unrelated to environmental microplastic pollution.

2021 Physical Review Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Quasi-periodic events in crystal plasticity and the self-organized avalanche oscillator

Researchers experimentally compressed nickel microcrystals across three orders of magnitude in strain rate and discovered that at low rates, plastic deformation bursts become quasi-periodic rather than random, revealing a "self-organized avalanche oscillator" behavior predicted to occur wherever slow relaxation competes with sudden stress release.

2012 Nature 169 citations
Article Tier 2

From Micro‐ to Macroplasticity

This materials science perspective discusses the transition from microplastic deformation (below the yield stress) to macroplastic deformation in nanocrystalline metals, noting that the traditional 0.2% yield stress definition does not accurately capture when bulk plastic flow begins. This is a materials physics study on metal deformation behavior with no relevance to environmental microplastics.

2006 Advanced Materials 95 citations
Article Tier 2

A bcc refractory high-entropy alloy: the ideal case of smooth plastic flow

This materials science paper characterizes smooth plastic flow in a body-centered cubic refractory high-entropy alloy, examining dislocation dynamics and deformation mechanisms; it is not directly related to microplastic environmental research.

2025 Materials Research Letters 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Simulating the mechanisms of serrated flow in interstitial alloys with atomic resolution over diffusive timescales

Researchers used computer simulations to model how atoms and structural defects interact in metal alloys during deformation, revealing three distinct behavioral regimes that explain a phenomenon called jerky or unstable plastic flow. This fundamental materials science work improves understanding of how metals behave under stress, which has no direct connection to microplastics pollution.

2020 Nature Communications 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Microstructural signatures of dislocation avalanches in a high-entropy alloy

This materials physics study traced how individual atomic slip events (dislocation avalanches) produce visible slip lines in a high-entropy alloy under stress. The term 'microplastic events' here refers to a materials science concept about small-scale deformation, not environmental plastic particles.

2021 Physical Review Materials 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic intermittency during cyclic loading: From dislocation patterning to microcrack initiation

This physics study examines how dislocation patterns in metals under cyclic loading lead to fatigue crack initiation at the microscale. It is a materials science paper studying microscale plastic deformation in metals, unrelated to environmental microplastics.

2019 Physical Review Materials 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Strain-dependent evolution of avalanche dynamics in bulk metallic glass

Researchers used in situ acoustic emission techniques to study avalanche dynamics during deformation of a bulk metallic glass (BMG) from the microplastic deformation region through to failure. Avalanche events followed a power-law distribution with exponents decreasing from 1.61 to 1.49 as deformation increased, demonstrating strain-dependent evolution of scale-invariant plasticity behavior in amorphous solids.

2025 Physical review. E 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Rate-Controlling Microplastic Processes during Plastic Flow in FCC Metals: Origin of the Variation of Strain Rate Sensitivity in Aluminum from 78 to 300 K

This materials science study examines the temperature dependence of deformation mechanisms in aluminum, specifically how strain rate sensitivity changes from cryogenic to room temperature — not related to microplastics or environmental health.

2022 Crystals 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Probing Microplasticity in Small-Scale FCC Crystals via Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

This study used dynamic mechanical analysis to study pre-yield dislocation activity — tiny structural movements — in small-scale face-centered cubic metal crystals. It is a materials science paper on nanoscale metal plasticity with no connection to environmental microplastics.

2017 Physical Review Letters 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Nucleation of plasticity in nanoparticle collisions

This physics study used computer simulations to model how nanoparticles deform when they collide at different speeds, finding distinct thresholds between elastic and plastic behavior. This is a materials science study on nanoparticle mechanics with no direct relevance to environmental microplastics.

2016 Physical review. E 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Correlation versus randomization of jerky flow in an AlMgScZr alloy using acoustic emission

This physics study analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of jerky plastic deformation in an aluminum alloy, finding complex correlated and random behaviors in dislocation dynamics. It is a materials science paper unrelated to environmental microplastics.

2018 Physical review. E 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Crack tip microplasticity mediated by microstructure gradients

This study examined how microstructural gradients near crack tips affect crack growth behavior in metals under mechanical loading. The research is focused on materials fracture mechanics and has no direct relevance to microplastic pollution.

2021 Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Fluid‐Assisted Strain Localization in Quartz at the Brittle/Ductile Transition

This materials science study examined deformation mechanisms in quartz rock at the boundary between brittle and ductile behavior. It is a geology and materials science paper unrelated to environmental microplastics.

2019 Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Machine learning plastic deformation of crystals

Researchers used machine learning to predict how microscale crystals deform under stress, finding that predictability varies with strain level and crystal size — larger crystals behave more predictably. The study reveals that sudden, avalanche-like deformation events create fundamental limits on how well material failure can be forecast, with implications for engineering stronger microscale components.

2018 Nature Communications 103 citations