Elastic fields of dislocation loops in three-dimensional anisotropic bimaterials

By applying semi-analytical point-force Green's functions obtained via the Stroh formulism, we derive simple line integrals to calculate the elastic displacement and stress fields for a three-dimensional dislocation loop in an anisotropic bimaterial system. The solutions for the case of anisotropy are more convenient for treating an arbitrary dislocation loop compared with traditional area integration. With this new formulation, we numerically examine the displacement, stress, and energy due to the interaction between a dislocation loop and the bimaterial interface in an Al–Cu system. The interactive image energy due to the elastic moduli mismatch across the interface is then numerically evaluated. The result shows that a dislocation loop is subjected to an attractive force by the interface when it lies in the stiff material, and a repulsive force when it lies in the soft material. Moreover, the dependence of the interactive image energy of a dislocation loop on the position and size of the dislocation loop are also demonstrated and discussed. Significantly, it is found that the interactive image energy for a dislocation loop depends only on the ratio d/a, where a is the loop diameter and d is its distance to the interface. The examples studied provide benchmark solutions for anisotropic bimaterial dislocation problems.