The effect of elastic inhomogeneity on equilibrium and stability of a two particle morphology

The influence of elastic inhomogeneity on the precipitate morphology in a phase separating alloy, which is stressed due to the particle misfit, is investigated by calculating equilibrium shapes of two interacting inclusions in an orthotropic system. The method of computation is based on a variational formulation, involving Eshelby's notion of a `force on an interface' and a boundary integral formulation of the associated linear elasticity problem. We find that the elastic inhomogeneity strongly affects both geometry and stability of equilibrium morphologies. Specifically, we find that, contrary to the homogeneous case, a two particle system can be an energetic minimum, implying the possibility of inverse coarsening