In geology and materials science, a deformation mechanism is a process occurring at a microscopic scale that is responsible for deformation: changes in a material's internal structure, shape and volume. The process involves planar discontinuity and/or displacement of atoms from their original position within a crystal lattice structure. These small changes are preserved in various microstructures of materials such as rocks, metals and plastics, and can be studied in depth using optical or digital microscopy.

Deformation mechanisms are commonly characterized as brittle, ductile, and brittle-ductile. The driving mechanism responsible is an interplay between internal (e.g. composition, grain size and lattice-preferred orientation) and external (e.g. temperature and fluid pressure) factors. These mechanisms produce a range of micro-structures studied in rocks to constrain the conditions, rheology, dynamics, and motions of tectonic events. More than one mechanism may be active under a given set of conditions and some mechanisms can develop independently. Detailed microstructure analysis can be used to define the conditions and timing under which individual deformation mechanisms dominate for some materials. Common deformation mechanisms processes include:

§ Fracturing
§ Cataclastic flow
§ Grain boundary sliding
§ Diffusive mass transfer
§ Dislocation creep
§ Dynamic recrystallization (recovery)

Fracturing is a brittle deformation process that creates permanent linear breaks, that are not accompanied by displacement within materials. These linear breaks or openings can be independent or interconnected. For fracturing to occur, the ultimate strength of the materials need to be exceeded to a point where the material ruptures. Rupturing is aided by the accumulations of high differential stress (the difference between the maximum and minimum stress acting on the object). Most fracture grow into faults. However, the term fault is only used when the fracture plane accommodate some degree of movement. Fracturing can happen across all scales, from microfractures to macroscopic fractures and joints in the rocks.

Cataclasis, or comminution, is a non-elastic brittle mechanism that operates under low to moderate homologous temperatures, low confining pressure and relatively high strain rates. It occurs only above a certain differential stress level, which is dependent on fluid pressure and temperature. Cataclasis accommodates the fracture and crushing of grains, causing grain size reduction, along with frictional sliding on grain boundaries and rigid body grain rotation. Intense cataclasis occurs in thin zones along slip or fault surfaces where extreme grain size reduction occurs. In rocks, cataclasis forms a cohesive and fine-grained fault rock called cataclasite. Cataclastic flow occurs during shearing when a rock deform by microfracturing and frictional sliding where tiny fractures (microcracks), and associated rock fragments move past each other. Cataclastic flow usually occurs at diagenetic to low-grade metamorphic conditions. However, this depends on the mineralogy of the material and the extent of pore fluid pressure. Cataclastic flow is generally unstable and will terminate by the localization of deformation into slip on fault planes.

Grain boundary sliding is a plastic deformation mechanism where crystals can slide past each other without friction and without creating significant voids as a result of diffusion. The deformation process associated with this mechanism is referred to as granular flow. The absence of voids results from solid-state diffusive mass transfer, locally enhanced crystal plastic deformation, or solution and precipitation of a grain boundary fluid. This mechanism operates at a low strain rate produced by neighbor switching. Grain boundary sliding is grain size- and temperature-dependent. It is favored by high temperatures and the presence of very fine-grained aggregates where diffusion paths are relatively short. Large strains operating in this mechanism do not result in the development of a lattice preferred orientation or any appreciable internal deformation of the grains, except at the grain boundary to accommodate the grain sliding; this process is called superplastic deformation.

In this group of mechanisms, the strain is accommodated by migration of vacancies in crystallographic lattice. This results in a change in crystal shape involving the transfer of mass by diffusion. These migrations are oriented towards sites of maximum stress and are limited by the grain boundaries; which conditions a crystallographic shape fabric or strain. The result is a more perfect crystal. This process is grain-size sensitive and occurs at low strain rates or very high temperatures, and is accommodated by migration of lattice defects from areas of low to those of high compressive stress. The main mechanisms of diffusive mass transfer are Nabarro-Herring creep, Coble creep, and pressure solution.

Nabarro–herring creep, or volume diffusion, acts at high homologous temperatures and is grain size dependent with the strain-rate inversely proportional to the square of the grain size (creep rate decreases as the grain size increases). During Nabarro-Herring creep, the diffusion of vacancies occurs through the crystal lattice (microtectonics), which causes grains to elongate along the stress axis. Nabarro-Herring creep has a weak stress dependence.