Energetic Approach to Large Strain Gradient Crystal Plasticity

We formulate a problem of the evolution of elasto-plastic materials subjected to external loads in the framework of large deformations and multiplicative plasticity. We focus on a spontaneous inhomogenization interpreted as a structuralization process. Our model includes gradients of the plastic strain and of hardening variables which provide a relevant length scale of the model. A simple computational experiment interpreted as a hint of a deformation substructure formation is included