ELASTIC INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DISLOCATIONS IN A FINITE BODY

The authors agree with Wilkens' results and with his new derivation showing that the average interaction energy between many dislocations distributed in an uncorrelated and quasi-uniform manner over the cross-section of a finite body is zero. This result implies that the interaction energy between just two dislocations in a finite body does not have a unique sign. To illustrate this point, the problem of two screw dislocationa parallel to the axis of a long circular cylinder has been solved explicitly. Contours for the interaction energies and the attractive or repulsive force are given. A discussion of distributions that are either non-random or non-quasi-uniform leads to the conclusion that the conventional value for the interaction energy involving only neighboring pairs may well be the most realistic. © 1969.