Behavior of screw dislocations near phase boundaries in the gradient theory of elasticity

The solution of the boundary-value problem on a rectilinear screw dislocation parallel to the interface between phases with different elastic moduli and gradient coefficients is obtained in one of the versions of the gradient theory of elasticity. The stress field of the dislocation and the force of its interaction with the interface (image force) are presented in integral form. Peculiarities of the short-range interaction between the dislocation and the interface are described, which is impossible in the classical linear theory of elasticity. It is shown that neither component of the stress field has singularities on the dislocation line and remains continuous at the interface in contrast to the classical solution, which has a singularity on the dislocation line and permits a discontinuity of one of the stress components at the interface. This results in the removal of the classical singularity of the image force for the dislocation at the interface. An additional elastic image force associated with the difference in the gradient coefficients of contacting phases is also determined. It is found that this force, which has a short range and a maximum value at the interface, expels a screw dislocation into the material with a larger gradient coefficient. At the same time, new gradient solutions for the stress field and the image force coincide with the classical solutions at distances from the dislocation line and the interface, which exceed several atomic spacings. (C) 2000 MAIK "Nauka /Interperiodica".