Size-dependent interaction between an edge dislocation and a nanoscale inhomogeneity with interface effects

The influence of the interface stress on the interaction between an edge dislocation and a circular nanoscale inhomogeneity is investigated. The explicit solutions are given for stress fields and the image force acting on the edge dislocation. The impact of interface properties and the size of the inhomogeneity on the glide/climb force are evaluated. The results show that the local hardening and softening effects at the interface of the nanoscale inhomogeneity due to the interface stress are remarkable and an additional repulsive/attractive force acting on the dislocation is produced. The normalized glide/climb force increases (decreases) with the decrease of the radius of the inhomogeneity, and the size dependence becomes significant when the radius of the inhomogeneity is reduced to the nanometer scale which differs from the size-independent classical solutions. For some cases, the glide/climb of the edge dislocation near the nanoinhomogeneity may be more difficult because more equilibrium locations are present. (c) 2006 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.