Elastic interaction of point defects in crystals with cubic symmetry

The energy of elastic mechanical interaction between point defects in cubic crystals is analyzed numerically. The finite-element complex ANSYS is used to investigate the character of interaction between point defects depending on their location along the crystallographic directions 〈100〉, 〈110〉, 〈111〉 and on the distance from the free boundary of the crystal. The numerical results are compared with the results of analytic computations of the energy of interaction between two point defects in an infinite anisotropic medium with cubic symmetry. The interaction between compressible and incompressible defects of general type is studied. Conditions for onset of elastic attraction between the defects, which leads to general relaxation of the crystal elastic energy, are obtained.