Image Force on a Screw Dislocation Inside an Elastic or a Piezoelectric Inhomogeneity of Arbitrary Shape

A novel and effective method is proposed to determine the image force acting on a screw dislocation located inside an elastic inhomogeneity of arbitrary shape perfectly bonded to an infinite elastic matrix. The basis for our representation of the image force stems from the fact that the analytic function defined inside the elastic inhomogeneity can be conveniently constructed from the continuity conditions of traction and displacement across the perfect interface. An identical method is employed to derive the image force on a screw dislocation inside a piezoelectric inhomogeneity of arbitrary shape.