Size-dependent interaction of an edge dislocation with an elliptical nano-inhomogeneity incorporating interface effects

The elastic behavior of an edge dislocation, which is positioned outside of a nanoscale elliptical inhomogeneity, is studied within the interface elasticity approach incorporating the elastic moduli and surface tension of the interface. The complex potential function method is used. The dislocation stress field and the image force acting on the dislocation are found and analyzed in detail. The difference between the solutions obtained within the classical-elasticity and interface-elasticity approaches is discussed. It is shown that for the stress field, this difference can be significant in those points of the inhomogeneity-matrix interface, where the radius of curvature is smaller and which are closer to the dislocation. For the image force, this difference can be considerable or dispensable in dependence on the dislocation position, its Burgers vector orientation, and relations between the elastic moduli of the matrix, inhomogeneity and their interface. Under some special conditions, the dislocation can occupy a stable equilibrium position in atomically close vicinity of the interface. The size effect is demonstrated that the normalized image force strongly depends on the inhomogeneity size when it is in the range of several tens of nanometers, in contrast with the classical solution where this force is always constant. The general issue is that the interface elasticity effects become more evident when the characteristic sizes of the problem (inhomogeneity size, interface curvature radius and dislocation-interface spacing) reduce to the nanoscale.     

The interaction between a screw dislocation and a circular inhomogeneity in gradient elasticity

The interaction between a screw dislocation and a circular inhomogeneity in gradient elasticity is investigated. The screw dislocation is located inside either the inhomogeneity or the matrix. By using the Fourier transform method, closed analytical solutions are obtained when the inhomogeneity and the matrix have the same gradient coefficient. The explicit expressions of image forces exerted on screw dislocations are derived. The motion of the appointed screw dislocation and its equilibrium positions are discussed. The results show that the classical singularity is eliminated. Especially, for the case of a tiny inhomogeneity, the relation of dislocations and inhomogeneities become quite different. The screw dislocation may be attracted by the stiff inhomogeneity and repelled by the soft inhomogeneity when it tends to the interface. So there is an unstable equilibrium position when a dislocation tends to a tiny stiff inhomogeneity and there is a stable equilibrium position when a dislocation tends to a tiny soft inhomogeneity.     

Singularity-free dislocation dynamics with strain gradient elasticity

The singular nature of the elastic fields produced by dislocations presents conceptual challenges and computational difficulties in the implementation of discrete dislocation-based models of plasticity. In the context of classical elasticity, attempts to regularize the elastic fields of discrete dislocations encounter intrinsic difficulties. On the other hand, in gradient elasticity, the issue of singularity can be removed at the outset and smooth elastic fields of dislocations are available. In this work we consider theoretical and numerical aspects of the non-singular theory of discrete dislocation loops in gradient elasticity of Helmholtz type, with interest in its applications to three dimensional dislocation dynamics (DD) simulations. The gradient solution is developed and compared to its singular and non-singular counterparts in classical elasticity using the unified framework of eigenstrain theory. The fundamental equations of curved dislocation theory are given as non-singular line integrals suitable for numerical implementation using fast one-dimensional quadrature. These include expressions for the interaction energy between two dislocation loops and the line integral form of the generalized solid angle associated with dislocations having a spread core. The single characteristic length scale of Helmholtz elasticity is determined from independent molecular statics (MS) calculations. The gradient solution is implemented numerically within our variational formulation of DD, with several examples illustrating the viability of the non-singular solution. The displacement field around a dislocation loop is shown to be smooth, and the loop self-energy non-divergent, as expected from atomic configurations of crystalline materials. The loop nucleation energy barrier and its dependence on the applied shear stress are computed and shown to be in good agreement with atomistic calculations. DD simulations of Lomer–Cottrell junctions in Al show that the strength of the junction and its configuration are easily obtained, without ad-hoc regularization of the singular fields. Numerical convergence studies related to the implementation of the non-singular theory in DD are presented.     

Electro-elastic interaction between a piezoelectric screw dislocation and circular interfacial rigid lines

The electro-elastic interaction between a piezoelectric screw dislocation located either outside or inside inhomogeneity and circular interfacial rigid lines under anti-plane mechanical and in-plane electrical loads in linear piezoelectric materials is dealt with in the framework of linear elastic theory. Using Riemann–Schwarz’s symmetry principle integrated with the analysis of singularity of complex functions, the general solution of this problem is presented in this paper. For a special example, the closed form solutions for electro-elastic fields in matrix and inhomogeneity regions are derived explicitly when interface containing single rigid line. Applying perturbation technique, perturbation stress and electric displacement fields are obtained. The image force acting on piezoelectric screw dislocation is calculated by using the generalized Peach–Koehler formula. As a result, numerical analysis and discussion show that soft inhomogeneity can repel screw dislocation in piezoelectric material due to their intrinsic electro-mechanical coupling behavior and the influence of interfacial rigid line upon the image force is profound. When the radian of circular rigid line reaches extensive magnitude, the presence of interfacial rigid line can change the interaction mechanism.     

The interaction between a screw dislocation and a rigid wedge inhomogeneity with an elastic circular inhomogeneity at the tip

The interaction between a screw dislocation and an elastic semi-cylindrical inhomogeneity abutting on a rigid half-plane is investigated. Utilizing the image dislocations method, the closed form solutions of the stress fields in the matrix and the inhomogeneity region are derived. The image force acting on the dislocation is also calculated. The results were used to study the interaction between a screw dislocation and a rigid wedge inhomogeneity with an elastic circular inhomogeneity at the tip by means of conformal mapping. The results show that an unstable equilibrium point of the dislocation near the semi-cylindrical inhomogeneity is found when the inhomogeneity is softer than the matrix. Moreover, the force on the dislocation is strongly affected by the position of the dislocation and the shear modulus of the semi-circular inhomogeneity. Positive screw dislocations can reduce the SIF of the rigid wedge inhomogeneity (shielding effect) only when it located in the lower half-plane. The shielding effect increases with the increase of the shear modulu of both the matrix and the inhomogeneity and increases with the increase of the wedge angle. The shielding effect (or anti-shielding effect) reaches the maximum when the dislocation tends to the wedge inhomogeneity interface.     

Inplane deformation of a circular inhomogeneity with imperfect interface

The plane elastic problem of a circular inhomogeneity with an imperfect interface of spring-constant-type is reduced to the solution of a Somigliana dislocation problem, when the solution for the corresponding problem with a perfect interface is known. The Burger's vector of the Somigliana dislocation is determined so that its components satisfy two interfacial conditions involving the traction components of the corresponding problem with a perfect interface. Employing complex variables, a two-phase potential solution to the Somigliana dislocation inhomogeneity problem is developed for a general form of the Burger's vector. Detailed results are reported for a uniform eigenstrain in the inhomogeneity, and for a remote uniform heat flow in the matrix. In the latter case, the inhomogeneity behaves as a void, when it begins to slide.     

Analytic Solution for a Line Edge Dislocation in a Bimaterial System Incorporating Interface Elasticity

We examine the plane strain deformations of a bimaterial system consisting of a line edge dislocation interacting with a flat interface between two dissimilar isotropic half-planes in which the additional effects of interface elasticity are incorporated into the model of deformation. The entire system is assumed to be free of any external loading. Despite the fact that it is generally accepted that the separate interface modulus describing interface elasticity is permitted to take negative values, we show that simple closed-form solutions for the dislocation-induced stress field and the image force acting on the dislocation are available only when the interface modulus is assumed to be positive; the corresponding system admits no valid solutions when the interface modulus is negative. We present several numerical examples to illustrate our solutions. Additionally, we show that the influence of interface elasticity on the dislocation-induced interfacial stress field decays with increasing hardness of the adjoining half-plane (free of the dislocation). Moreover, we find that for a given (positive) in-plane interface modulus, the corresponding interface effects on the image force (acting on the dislocation) can reach maximum or minimum values when the Burgers vector of the dislocation is either parallel or perpendicular to the interface.     

On the interaction between a dislocation and a circular inhomogeneity with imperfect interface in antiplane shear

The solution of appropriate elasticity problems involving the interaction between inclusions and dislocations plays a fundamental role in many practical and theoretical applications, namely, it increases the understanding of material defects thereby providing valuable insight into the mechanical behavior of composite materials.Although the problem of a three-phase circular inclusion interacting with a dislocation in antiplane shear has been presented [Xiao and Chen, Mech. Mater. 32 (2000) 485], the analysis is limited to the classical perfect bonding condition. The current paper considers the solution for a homogeneous circular inclusion interacting with a dislocation under thermal loadings in antiplane shear. The bonding along the inhomogeneity–matrix interface is considered to be imperfect with the assumption that the interface imperfections are constant. It is found that when the inhomogeneity is soft, regardless of the level of interface imperfection, the inhomogeneity will always attract the dislocation. As a result, no equilibrium positions are available. Alternatively, when the inhomogeneity is hard, an unstable equilibrium position is found which depends on the imperfect interface condition and the shear moduli ratio μ₂/μ₁.     

纵向剪切下含共焦刚性核弹性椭圆夹杂中的螺型位错干涉

摘 要 研究了无穷远纵向剪切下无限大基体中含共焦刚性核弹性椭圆夹杂内任意位置螺型位错的干涉问题。运用复变函数保角映射、解析延拓等方法,获得了基体与夹杂区域的应力场的级数形式精确解,并得出了位错像力的解析表达式,导出了纵向剪切下两椭圆界面最大应力及其比值公式。分析结果表明：夹杂内部的刚性核对位错与夹杂的干涉产生明显的扰动效应,排斥硬夹杂内位错,并使之不断趋近弹性夹杂界面。对于软夹杂,夹杂中的位错存在稳定的平衡位置,当位错位于刚性核和平衡位置之间时,位错会趋于弹性夹杂界面;当位错位于平衡位置和弹性夹杂界面之间时,位错会离开界面。结果还显示,夹杂的长轴和短轴之比对位错与夹杂的干涉也有着不可忽视的影响,尤其当位错在刚性核附近时,随着夹杂的长、短轴比值的减小,核对位错的排斥力也明显减弱。本文解答包含了多个以往文献成果。     

Dislocations in second strain gradient elasticity

A second strain gradient elasticity theory is proposed based on first and second gradients of the strain tensor. Such a theory is an extension of first strain gradient elasticity with double stresses. In particular, the strain energy depends on the strain tensor and on the first and second gradient terms of it. Using a simplified but straightforward version of this gradient theory, we can connect it with a static version of Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity. For the first time, it is used to study a screw dislocation and an edge dislocation in second strain gradient elasticity. By means of this second gradient theory it is possible to eliminate both strain and stress singularities. Another important result is that we obtain nonsingular expressions for the force stresses, double stresses and triple stresses produced by a straight screw dislocation and a straight edge dislocation. The components of the force stresses and of the triple stresses have maximum values near the dislocation line and are zero there. On the other hand, the double stresses have maximum values at the dislocation line. The main feature is that it is possible to eliminate all unphysical singularities of physical fields, e.g., dislocation density tensor and elastic bend-twist tensor which are still singular in the first strain gradient elasticity.     

Elastic Green’s Function in Anisotropic Bimaterials Considering Interfacial Elasticity

The two-dimensional elastic Green’s function is calculated for a general anisotropic elastic bimaterial containing a line dislocation and a concentrated force while accounting for the interfacial structure by means of a generalized interfacial elasticity paradigm. The introduction of the interface elasticity model gives rise to boundary conditions that are effectively equivalent to those of a weakly bounded interface. The equations of elastic equilibrium are solved by complex variable techniques and the method of analytical continuation. The solution is decomposed into the sum of the Green’s function corresponding to the perfectly bonded interface and a perturbation term corresponding to the complex coupling nature between the interface structure and a line dislocation/concentrated force. Such construct can be implemented into the boundary integral equations and the boundary element method for analysis of nano-layered structures and epitaxial systems where the interface structure plays an important role.     

Edge dislocation interacting with an interfacial crack along a circular inhomogeneity

The elastic interaction of an edge dislocation, which is located either outside or inside a circular inhomogeneity, with an interfacial crack is dealt with. Using Riemann–Schwarz’s symmetry principle integrated with the analysis of singularity of the complex potentials, the closed form solutions for the elastic fields in the matrix and inhomogeneity regions are derived explicitly. The image force on the dislocation is then determined by using the Peach–Keohler formula. The influence of the crack geometry and material mismatch on the dislocation force is evaluated and discussed when the dislocation is located in the matrix. It is shown that the interfacial crack has significant effect on the equilibrium position of the edge dislocation near a circular interface. The results also reveal a strong dependency of the dislocation force on the mismatch of the shear moduli and Poisson’s ratios between the matrix and inhomogeneity.     

Exact Solutions for a Thick Elastic Plate with a Thin Elastic Surface Layer

A procedure has been developed in previous papers for constructing exact solutions of the equations of linear elasticity in a plate (not necessarily thin) of inhomogeneous isotropic linearly elastic material in which the elastic moduli depend in any specified manner on a coordinate normal to the plane of the plate. The essential idea is that any solution of the classical equations for a hypothetical thin plate or laminate (which are two-dimensional theories) generates, by straightforward substitutions, a solution of the three-dimensional elasticity equations for the inhomogeneous material. In this paper we consider a thick plate of isotropic elastic material with a thin surface layer of different isotropic elastic material. It is shown that the interface tractions and in-plane stress discontinuities are determined only by the initial two-dimensional solution, without recourse to the three-dimensional elasticity theory. Two illustrative examples are described.     

增强相/夹杂内螺位错偶极子与含共焦钝裂纹椭圆夹杂的干涉效应

运用弹性力学的复势方法,研究了纵向剪切下增强相/夹杂内螺型位错偶极子与含共焦钝裂纹椭圆夹杂的干涉效应,得到了该问题复势函数的封闭形式解答,由此推导出了夹杂区域的应力场、作用在螺型位错偶极子中心的像力和像力偶矩以及裂纹尖端应力强度因子级数形式解。并分析了位错偶极子倾角 、钝裂纹尺寸和材料常数对位错像力、像力偶矩以及应力强度因子的影响。数值计算结果表明：位错像力、像力偶矩以及应力强度因子均随位错偶极子倾角做周期变化;夹杂内部的椭圆钝裂纹明显增强了硬基体对位错的排斥,减弱了软基体对位错的吸引,且对于硬夹杂,位错出现了一个不稳定平衡位置,该平衡位置随钝裂纹曲率的增大不断向界面靠近;变化 值将出现改变位错偶极子对应力强度因子作用方向的临界值。     

Love solutions in the linear inhomogeneous transversely isotropic theory of elasticity

A general Love solution for the inhomogeneous transversely isotropic theory of elasticity with the elastic constants dependent on the coordinate z is proposed. This result may be considered as a generalization of the Love solutions we recently derived for the inhomogeneous isotropic theory of elasticity. The key steps of deriving the Love solution for the classical linear homogeneous transversely isotropic theory of elasticity are described for further use of the derivation procedure, which is then generalized to the inhomogeneous transversely isotropic case. Some particular cases of inhomogeneity traditionally used in the theory of elasticity are also examined. The significance of the derived solutions and their importance for the modeling of functionally graded materials are briefly discussed     

Circular inclusions in anti-plane strain couple stress elasticity

The solution for a circular inclusion with a prescribed anti-plane eigenstrain is derived. It is shown that the components of the Eshelby tensor within the inclusion, corresponding to a uniform eigenstrain, can be either uniform or non-uniform, depending on the imposed interface conditions. The stress amplification factors due to circular void or rigid inclusion in an infinite medium under remote anti-plane shear stress are calculated. The failure of the couple stress elasticity to reproduce the classical elasticity solution in the limit of vanishingly small characteristic length is indicated for a particular type of boundary conditions. The solution for a circular inhomogeneity in an infinitely extended matrix subjected to remote shear stress is then derived. The effects of the imposed interface conditions, the shear stress and couple stress discontinuities, and the relationship between the inhomogeneity and its equivalent eigenstrain inclusion problem are discussed.     

Elastic field of an isotropic matrix with a nanoscale elliptical inhomogeneity

In traditional continuum mechanics, the effect of surface energy is ignored as it is small compared to the bulk energy. For nanoscale materials and structures, however, the surface effects become significant due to the high surface/volume ratio. In this paper, two-dimensional elastic field of a nanoscale elliptical inhomogeneity embedded in an infinite matrix under arbitrary remote loading and a uniform eigenstrain in the inhomogeneity is investigated. The Gurtin–Murdoch surface/interface elasticity model is applied to take into account the surface/interface stress effects. By using the complex variable technique of Muskhelishvili, the analytic potential functions are obtained in the form of an infinite series. Selected numerical results are presented to study the size-dependency of the elastic field and the effects of surface elastic moduli and residual surface stress. It is found that the elastic field of an elliptic inhomogeneity under uniform eigenstrain is no longer uniform when the interfacial stress effects are taken into account.     

A three dimensional field formulation,and isogeometric solutions to point and line defects using Toupin's theory of gradient elasticity at finite strains

We present a field formulation for defects that draws from the classical representation of the cores as force dipoles. We write these dipoles as singular distributions. Exploiting the key insight that the variational setting is the only appropriate one for the theory of distributions, we arrive at universally applicable weak forms for defects in nonlinear elasticity. Remarkably, the standard, Galerkin finite element method yields numerical solutions for the elastic fields of defects that, when parameterized suitably, match very well with classical, linearized elasticity solutions. The true potential of our approach, however, lies in its easy extension to generate solutions to elastic fields of defects in the regime of nonlinear elasticity, and even more notably for Toupin's theory of gradient elasticity at finite strains (Toupin Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal., 11 (1962) 385). In computing these solutions we adopt recent numerical work on an isogeometric analytic framework that enabled the first three-dimensional solutions to general boundary value problems of Toupin's theory (Rudraraju et al. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng., 278 (2014) 705). We first present exhaustive solutions to point defects, edge and screw dislocations, and a study on the energetics of interacting dislocations. Then, to demonstrate the generality and potential of our treatment, we apply it to other complex dislocation configurations, including loops and low-angle grain boundaries.     

Surface/interface effects on elastic behavior of a screw dislocation in an eccentric core–shell nanowire

The elastic behavior of a screw dislocation which is positioned inside the shell domain of an eccentric core–shell nanowire is addressed with taking into account the surface/interface stress effect. The complex potential function method in combination with the conformal mapping function is applied to solve the governing non-classical equations. The dislocation stress field and the image force acting on the dislocation are studied in detail and compared with those obtained within the classical theory of elasticity. It is shown that near the free outer surface and the inner core–shell interface, the non-classical solution for the stress field considerably differs from the classical one, while this difference practically vanishes in the bulk regions of the nanowire. It is also demonstrated that the surface with positive (negative) shear modulus applies an extra non-classical repelling (attracting) image force to the dislocation, which can change the nature of the equilibrium positions depending on the system parameters. At the same time, the non-classical solution fails when the dislocation approaches very close to the surface/interface with negative shear modulus. The effects of the core–shell eccentricity and nanowire diameter on dislocation behavior are discussed. It is shown that the non-classical surface/interface effect has a short-range character and becomes more pronounced when the nanowire diameter is smaller than 20 nm.     

基体裂纹与界面刚性线的弹性干涉

研究两种材料界面上的刚性线与其它任意位置处直线裂纹弹性干涉的反平面问题。基于界面上刚性线与任意位置处螺型位错干涉的基本解,运用连续位错密度模型法将问题转化为奇异积分方程。用半开型积分法求解奇异积分方程,得到位错密度函数的离散值,计算裂纹尖端处的应力强度因子。算例说明该方法可用于工程实际问题。