Effect of interface stresses on the image force and stability of an edge dislocation inside a nanoscale cylindrical inclusion

Dislocation mobility and stability in inclusions can affect the mechanical behaviors of the composites. In this paper, the problem of an edge dislocation located within a nanoscale cylindrical inclusion incorporating interface stress is first considered. The explicit expression for the image force acting on the edge dislocation is obtained by means of a complex variable method. The influence of the interface effects and the size of the inclusion on the image force is evaluated. The results indicate that the impact of interface stress on the image force and the equilibrium positions of the edge dislocation inside the inclusion becomes remarkable when the radius of the inclusion is reduced to nanometer scale. The force acting on the edge dislocation produced by the interface stress will increase with the decrease of the radius of the inclusion and depends on the inclusion size which differs from the classical solution. The stability of the dislocation inside a nanoscale inclusion is also analyzed. The condition of the dislocation stability and the critical radius of the inclusion are revised for considering interface stresses. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.