Laws of electrical stimulation of plastic deformation of metals and alloys at various structural levels

The laws governing the electrical stimulation of plastic deformation at various structural levels are reviewed. The following topics are covered: the hierarchy of external current stimuli affecting plastic deformation; the variation of the mobility of individual dislocations in zones of thermally activated and quasiviscous motion associated with mechanical, electrical, and combined stimuli over a wide range of temperatures (microlevel); the evolution of defect structure in materials of various structural classes subjected to electrical stimulation over a wide range of strains (mesolevel); the ordered character of plastic deformation inhomogeneities; models of the stress — strain state in the presence of current stimulation (macrolevel) and their interpretation.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 66–96, March, 1996.