On elastic modeling of inclusion induced microplasticity in metallic matrices from the dilatating sphere problem

The plastic flow process around a spherical dilatated inclusion has been pr eviously sketched as a "dislocation shell" emission idealizing patterns of collectively moving prismatic circular loops. This elastic description of r elaxation is here reintroduced from the discretization of the continuous pl astic solution into elementary plastic deformation fields taken compatible except in a thin leading shell-like zone. The assumptions which yield to th e elastic problem of the current equilibrium for n-imbricated hollow sphere s with overlapping radii are specified and the provided Bow and internal st ress fields are compared to those from the continuous plasticity modeling o n the one hand, and from a dislocation loop pattern on the other hand. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.