Dislocation glide controlled by linear elastic obstacles: A thermodynamic analysis

Abstract
A general thermodynamic analysis is presented for the thermally activated motion of dislocations over linear elastic obstacles. Expressions for the activation parameters are derived both in the effective and the applied stress formulations and the generalized compatibility conditions satisfied by the respective parameters in the two conventions are proposed. It is shown that the analysis of Schoeck (1965) is in conflict with his assumptions, and that the formulae Schoeck proposed in the applied stress notation are only fortuitously correct. The problems involved in applying activation analysis to experimental results are considered, and various consistent methods for analysing experimental data are presented and compared. It is emphasized that analysis in terms of the effective stress is required in order to characterize the rate-controlling deformation mechanism.