The interaction between a surface step and an edge dislocation was studied. The geometric step introduced an elastic field that was altered by the presence of a dislocation in its vicinity. The complete elastic field was first determined, followed by explicit expressions for the Peach-Koehler force of the interaction. Some attention was focussed on the possibility that an edge dislocation could be prevented from reaching the surface, as a result of the field generated by the surface step. If such an outcome was possible, surface steps might be responsible for a newly proposed mechanism for strain hardening.

On the Elastic Interaction between a Surface Step and an Edge Dislocation. D.Kouris, Y.Arai, T.Yamaguchi, E.Tsuchida: Mathematics and Mechanics of Solids, 2008, 13[3-4], 336-56