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.