The interaction of an edge dislocation with an inhomogeneity of arbitrary shape in an applied stress field

A general, approximate solution is presented for an edge dislocation interacting with an inhomogeneity of arbitrary shape under combined dislocation and applied stress fields. The solution shows that the contributions of the dislocation stress field and the applied stress field to the interaction follow a simple superposition principle. The dislocation stress field has a short range effect, while the applied stress field has a long range effect. As special cases, explicit solutions for some common inhomogeneity shapes are obtained for the interaction induced by the applied stress field.

► A general solution for an edge dislocation interacting with an inhomogeneity is presented.
► Relative importance of the dislocation and applied stress field on the interaction is identified.
► Explicit formulas are presented for special inhomogeneity shapes.