The Portevin-Le Chatelier Effect and Beyond

This chapter presents a review of investigations into the complexity of the plastic flow associated with the Portevin-Le Chateliereffect, or jerky flow, in traditional alloys that have basic elements determining the crystal lattice of the material. The main accent is put onthe illustration of the state-of-the art of this research under the angle of distinct regimes of collective dislocation dynamics, e.g., self-organizedcriticality, deterministic chaos, or synchronization. Finally, an extension of the research toward finer scales, which are resolved using acoustic emission and image correlation techniques, is discussed.