Modified strip saturated models for two equal collinear cracks with coalesced zones in piezoelectric media

Two equal collinear cracks with coalesced interior electric saturation zones are analytically studied for two-dimensional(2D) arbitrary polarized semipermeable piezoelectric media based on a modified strip saturated model. The strip saturated model is modified here by varying the strip saturated constant electric displacement condition to the polynomially varying electric displacement conditions. Based on the linear, quadratic,and cubic electric displacement conditions on the inner and outer saturated zones, different modified strip saturated models are proposed and studied for two equal collinear cracks. With the Stroh formalism and the complex variable technique, these fracture problems are reduced into different types of non-homogeneous Riemann Hilbert problems in unknown generalized complex potential functions. These mathematical problems are then solved with the Riemann-Hilbert approach to obtain the stress and electric displacement components at any point of the domain. The explicit expressions for the outer saturated zone length, the crack opening potential(COP), the crack opening displacement(COD), and the local intensity factors(LIFs) are derived. A numerical study is presented for the modified strip saturated model in 2D arbitrary polarized semipermeable PZT-4 material. The obtained results are compared with those of the strip saturated model, and the effects of the polynomially varying saturation condition on the saturated zones and the applied electrical loadings are presented.     

Limited permeable crack in an interlayer between piezoelectric materials with different zones of electrical saturation and mechanical yielding

A plane problem for two identical piezoelectric semi-infinite spaces adhered by means of a thin isotropic interlayer is considered. It is assumed that a crack of a limited electric permeability occurs in the interlayer parallel to its faces. Combined electromechanical loading is prescribed at infinity. It is assumed that the interlayer is softer than the adherent materials. To avoid the singularities, which are typical for the Griffith crack model, two distinct zones – a zone of mechanical yielding and a zone of electrical saturation – of unknown lengths are introduced as crack continuations. These lengths can be essentially different, with the zone of mechanical yielding significantly longer or shorter than the zone of electrical saturation. Assuming that the interlayer thickness tends to zero, a constant normal stress is prescribed in the zone of mechanical yielding and a saturated electrical displacement is prescribed in the zone of electrical saturation. Outside of these zones, the semi-infinite spaces are assumed to be perfectly bonded. This formulation results in a linear fracture mechanics problem with unknown pre-fracture zone lengths. The problem, formulated mathematically by a system of two equations of linear relationship, is solved exactly. The unknown yield and saturated zones lengths are found from the conditions of finiteness of stress and electrical displacement at the ends of these zones for the both cases when the electrical saturated zone is longer and shorter than the zone of mechanical yielding. It is shown that the same equation as for the Griffith crack model can be used for the determination of the electrical displacement in the crack region. The main results of the paper are obtained in the form of simple analytical equations which are convenient for engineering applications. Some numerical illustrations in graphical and tabular form show dependencies of the pre-fracture zone lengths, the energy release rate, the mechanical displacement and electrical potential jumps on the electromechanical loading and the electrical permeability of the crack medium.     

Strip-electromechanical model solution for piezoelectric plate cut along two semi-permeable collinear cracks

A strip electric saturation and mechanical yielding model solution is proposed for a piezoelectric plate cut along two equal collinear semi-permeable mode-I cracks with electrical polarization reaching a saturation limit and normal stress reaching a yield stress along a line segment in front of the cracks. By using Stroh formalism and complex variable technique, we derived the analytical solution for the field quantities. Three different situations are investigated when developed electrical saturation zone is bigger/smaller or equal to the developed mechanical yield zone. Numerical results show that the effect of different electric boundary conditions on the crack opening displacement and crack opening potential drop is significant and should not be ignored. The influence of electric load displacement on the energy release rate is also investigated for PZT-4, PZT-5H and BaTiO₃ ceramics, and it may assists for the correct choosing of ceramic for specific job.     

Numerical solution of polarization saturation/dielectric breakdown model in 2D finite piezoelectric media

The polarization saturation (PS) model [Gao, H., Barnett, D.M., 1996. An invariance property of local energy release rates in a strip saturation model of piezoelectric fracture. Int. J. Fract. 79, R25–R29; Gao, H., Zhang, T.Y., Tong, P., 1997. Local and global energy release rates for an electrically yielded crack in a piezoelectric ceramic. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 45, 491–510], and the dielectric breakdown (DB) model [Zhang, T.Y., Zhao, M.H., Cao, C.F., 2005. The strip dielectric breakdown model. Int. J. Fract. 132, 311–327] explain very well some experimental observations of fracture of piezoelectric ceramics. In this paper, the nonlinear hybrid extended displacement discontinuity-fundamental solution method (NLHEDD-FSM) is presented for numerical analysis of both the PS and DB models of two-dimensional (2D) finite piezoelectric media under impermeable and semi-permeable electric boundary conditions. In this NLHEDD-FSM, the solution is expressed approximately by a linear combination of fundamental solutions of the governing equations, which includes the extended point force fundamental solutions with sources placed at chosen points outside the domain of the problem under consideration, and the extended Crouch fundamental solutions with extended displacement discontinuities placed on the crack and the electric yielding zone. The coefficients of the fundamental solutions are determined by letting the approximated solution satisfy certain conditions on the boundary of the domain, on the crack face and the electric yielding zone. The zero electric displacement intensity factor in the PS model or the zero electric field strength intensity factor in the DB model at the outer tips of the electric yielding zone is used as a supplementary condition to determine the size of the electric yielding zone. Iteration approaches are adopted in the NLHEDD-FSM. The electric yielding zone is determined, and the extended intensity factors and the local J-integral are calculated for center cracks in piezoelectric strips. The effects of finite domain size, saturation property and different electric boundary conditions, as well as different models on the electric yielding zone and the local J-integral, are studied.     

Dielectric Breakdown Model for an Electrically Semi-Permeable Penny-Shaped Crack in Three-Dimensional Piezoelectric Media

The dielectric breakdown(DB) model for a penny-shaped crack under a semipermeable boundary condition in a three-dimensional piezoelectric medium is studied.An approximate analytical solution is derived by using the boundary integral equation with extended displacement discontinuity,and the corresponding boundary element method with double iterative approaches is developed to analyze the semi-permeable crack.The effect of electric boundary conditions on crack faces is discussed on the basis of DB model.By comparing the DB model with the polarization saturation(PS) model for different piezoelectric materials,some interesting phenomena related to the electric yielding zone and local J-integral are observed.     

A Crack with an Electric Displacement Saturation Zone in an Electrostrictive Material

A crack with an electric displacement saturation zone in an electrostrictive material under purely electric loading is analyzed. A strip saturation model is here employed to investigate the effect of the electrical polarization saturation on electric fields and elastic fields. A closed form solution of electric fields and elastic fields for the crack with the strip saturation zone is obtained by using the complex function theory. It is found that the K _I -dominant region is very small compared to the strip saturation zone. The generalized Dugdale zone model is also employed in order to investigate the effect of the saturation zone shape on the stress intensity factor. Using the body force analogy, the stress intensity factor for the asymptotic problem of a crack with an elliptical saturation zone is evaluated numerically.     

Effect of electrical polarization saturation on stress intensity factors in a piezoelectric ceramic

The electric-field induced stress intensity factor in a piezoelectric medium of limited electrical polarization is evaluated based on a strip-saturation model of the Dugdale-type. Particular emphasis is placed on the effect of the saturation condition on the near tip field and the stress intensity factor. To this end, the general solution is derived in terms of the (unspecified) normal electrical displacement distribution along the saturated strip. Since the saturated strip is representative of the unknown saturated zone, the normal electrical displacement may suffer discontinuity across the saturated strip. It is found that the crack-tip field and the stress intensity factors depend on the discontinuity of the normal electrical displacement across the saturated strip although this dependency disappears in some practically important cases. A crack perpendicular to the poling axis in a general poled ferroelectric is discussed in detail to illustrate the implications of the strip-saturation model for electric-field induced cracking. The results show that some discrepancies between theory and experiments, for which the classical linear piezoelectric model gives qualitatively incorrect results, can be explained clearly in terms of the stress intensity factor given by the strip-saturation model. In particular, these results are independent of the form of the saturation condition imposed on the saturated strip.     

Nonlinear fracture of 2D magnetoelectroelastic media: Analytical and numerical solutions

A strip electric–magnetic polarization saturation (SEMPS) model is developed to study the electric and magnetic yielding effects on a crack in magnetoelectroelastic (MEE) media. In this model, the MEE medium is treated as being mechanically brittle, and electrically and magnetically ductile. Analogously to the classic Dugdale model, the electric and magnetic yielding zones in front of the crack are represented for simplicity by two strips. In the electric yielding strip the electric displacement equals the electric displacement saturation and meanwhile in the magnetic yielding zone the magnetic induction equals the magnetic induction saturation. The nonlinear analytical solution of this SEMPS model of crack in an infinite MEE medium is obtained using an integral equation approach. The equivalence between the proposed SEMPS model and the existing strip electric–magnetic breakdown (SEMB) model is demonstrated.To analyze the nonlinear fracture problem in the corresponding finite MEE media, the non-linear hybrid extended displacement discontinuity-fundamental solution (NLHEDD-FS) method is modified, and a multiple iteration approach is adapted to determine the electric and magnetic yielding zones. Comparing with the analytical solution, the applicability and effectiveness of the NLHEDD-FS method is verified. Numerical results based on the SEMPS model for a center crack in infinite and finite MEE strip are presented.     

Asymptotic analysis of an impermeable crack in an electrostrictive material subjected to electric loading

The simple asymptotic problem of an impermeable crack in an electrostrictive ceramic under electric loading is analyzed. Closed form solutions of elastic fields are obtained by using the complex function theory. It is found that the K_I-dominant region is very small compared to the electric saturation zone. A fracture parameter for an electrostrictive material subjected to electric loading is discussed. In order to investigate the influence of the transverse electric displacement on fracture behavior under the small-scale conditions, we also consider the modified boundary layer problem of a crack in an electrostrictive material. Analytic solutions of electric displacement fields for the asymptotic problem are obtained based on the nonlinear dielectric theory from a modified boundary layer analysis. The shape of the electric displacement saturation zone is shown to depend on the transverse electric displacement. Stress intensity factors induced by the electrostrictive strains are evaluated using the nonlinear solution of the electric displacements. It is found that the transverse electric displacement affects strongly the variation of the mode mixity.     

Strip-coalesced interior zone model for two unequal collinear cracks weakening piezoelectric media

In this paper, a mathematical strip-saturation model is proposed for a poled transversely isotropic piezoelectric plate weakened by two impermeable unequal-collinear hairline straight cracks. Remotely applied in-plane unidirectional electromechanical loads open the cracks in mode-I such that the saturation zone developed at the interior tips of cracks gets coalesced. The developed saturation zones are arrested by distributing over their rims in-plane normal cohesive electrical displacement. The problem is solved using the Stroh formalism and the complex variable technique. The expressions are derived for the stress intensity factors （SIFs）, the lengths of the saturation zones developed, the crack opening displacement （COD）, and the energy release rate. An illustrative numerical case study is presented for the poled PZT-5H ceramic to investigate the effect of prescribed electromechanical loads on parameters affecting crack arrest. Also, the effect of different lengths of cracks on the SIFs and the local energy release rate （LERR） has been studied. The results obtained are graphically presented and analyzed.     

Study of a propagating finite crack in functionally graded piezoelectric materials considering dielectric medium effect

This paper provides a study of the problem of a propagating finite crack under in-plane loading in functionally graded piezoelectric materials (FGPMs). The analytical formulations are developed by Fourier transforms and the resulting singular integral equations are solved by using Chebyshev polynomials. By using a dielectric crack model with deformation-dependent electric boundary condition, numerical simulations are made to show the effects of the dielectric medium, the gradient of material properties and the speed of crack propagation on the fracture parameters, such as the stress, electric displacement and crack opening displacement intensity factors. A critical state for the electromechanical loading applied to the FGPMs is observed, which determines whether the traditionally impermeable (or permeable) crack model serves as the upper or lower bound for the dielectric model. The validity of this dielectric crack model is also examined by comparing the results of different existing crack models.     

Strip electric-magnetic breakdown model in a magnetoelectroelastic medium

Extending the polarization saturation model [Gao et al., 1997. Local and global energy release rates for an electrically yielded crack in a piezoelectric ceramic. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 45, 491-510] and the dielectric breakdown (DB) model [Zhang et al., 2005. The strip dielectric breakdown model. Int. J. Fract. 132, 311-327] in piezoelectric materials, the Strip Electric-Magnetic Breakdown (SEMB) model is proposed for electrically and magnetically impermeable crack in a magnetoelectroelastic medium to study the effect of the nonlinear character of electric field and magnetic field on fracture of magnetoelectroelastic materials. In the SEMB model, the electric field in the strip of the electric breakdown zone ahead of the crack tip is equal to the electric breakdown strength, while the magnetic filed in the strip of the magnetic breakdown zone is equal to the magnetic breakdown strength. By using the extended Stroh formalism and the extended dislocation modeling of a crack, the Griffith crack problem under the electrically and magnetically elastic-plastic condition in a magnetoelectroelastic medium is reduced to a set of dual integral equations. The sizes of the electric breakdown zone and the magnetic breakdown zone, the extended intensity factors and the local J-integral are obtained. The effect of the combined mechanical-electric-magnetic loadings on the local J-integral is studied.     

Opening and contact zones of an interface crack in a piezoelectric bimaterial under combined compressive-shear loading

A plane problem for a tunnel electrically permeable interface crack between two semi-infinite piezoelectric spaces is studied. A remote mechanical and electrical loading is applied. Elastic displacements and potential jumps as well as stresses and electrical displacement along the interface are presented using a sectionally holomorphic vector function. It is assumed that the interface crack includes zones of crack opening and frictionless contact. The problem is reduced to a combined Dirichlet–Riemann boundary value problem which is solved analytically. From the obtained solution, simple analytical expressions are derived for all mechanical and electrical characteristics at the interface. A quite simple transcendental equation, which determines the point of separation of open and close sections of the crack, is found. For the analysis of the obtained results, the main attention is devoted to the case of compressive-shear loading. The analytical analysis and numerical results show that, even if the applied normal stress is compressive, a certain crack opening zone exists for all considered loading values provided the shear field is present. It is found that the shear stress intensity factor at the closed crack tip and the energy release rates at the both crack tips depend very slightly on the magnitude of compressive loading.     

Sufficient criterion of fracture in the case with a complex stress state and non-proportional deformation of the material in the pre-fracture zone

A general case of proportional loading with a complex stress state of the material in the pre-fracture zone, which is typical for polycrystalline solids with plastic deformation, is considered. A sufficient criterion of fracture is proposed for the case of a complex stress state with non-proportional deformation of the material in the pre-fracture zone. Critical parameters of fracture (pre-fracture zone length and load) for cracks propagating in quasi-brittle materials are obtained with the use of a modified Leonov-Panasyuk-Dugdale model. The pre-fracture zone width is determined by solving the problem of the plasticity theory in the vicinity of the crack tip. The proposed modification of the Leonov-Panasyuk-Dugdale model makes it possible to estimate the critical opening of the crack and the critical displacement of the crack flanks. Inequalities that describe different mechanisms of material fracture under proportional loading (predominantly shear fracture mechanism and fracture mechanism through cleavage) are derived.     

The effective electroelastic property of piezoelectric media with parallel dielectric cracks

Existing studies on the coupled electroelastic behaviour of cracked piezoelectric media have been based mostly on the electrically impermeable and permeable crack models. The current paper presents a study of the effective electroelastic property of piezoelectric media weakened by parallel cracks using a dielectric crack model with the electric boundary condition along the crack surfaces being governed by the opening displacement. The theoretical formulation is obtained using the dilute model of distributed cracks and the solution of a single dielectric crack problem. It is observed that the effective electroelastic property of cracked piezoelectric media is nonlinear and sensitive to loading conditions. Different modes of crack deformation are predicted and discussed. Attention is paid to the transition between electrically permeable and impermeable crack models.     

Effect of electric displacement saturation on the hysteretic behavior of ferroelectric ceramics and the initiation and propagation of cracks in piezoelectric ceramics

This paper presents a computational investigation of a proposed simplified account for electric displacement saturation on the hysteretic behavior of initially unpoled ferroelectric ceramics as well as on the initiation and propagation of cracks in poled ferroelectric ceramics within the linear regime of piezoelectricity. For the latter case, experimental observations suggest an odd dependency of the onset of crack initiation in these brittle materials on the orientation of the applied electric field with respect to their poling direction which contradicts theoretical results which propose an even dependency of the energy release rate on the applied electric field within the framework of anisotropic linear piezoelectricity. Electric non-linearities arising at regions of inhomogeneities such as inclusions or at the crack tip are proposed in the literature to avoid this discrepancy. Electric displacement saturation is one such non-linear effect which is investigated in this work. A simplified account of this effect is proposed based on an exponential saturation model of the identified material parameters which can be related to this non-linearity. Its advantage over the superposition of a complex function onto the singular solution of a crack within the framework of linear piezoelectricity lies in the straightforward extension of the proposed approach to problems where no analytical solutions exist. This is outlined based on its incorporation into a rate-dependent ferroelectric model accounting for polarization switching as well as based on its incorporation into a finite element framework capable of simulating the initiation and propagation of cracks in piezoelectric ceramics through strong discontinuities in the displacement field and the electric potential. It is shown that besides the determination of the crack initiation onset also the crack propagation direction is influenced by the appearance of saturation zones arising at the crack tip normal to the polarization direction. The numerically obtained crack paths are found to be close to the experimentally reported results.     

Fracture prediction for piezoelectric ceramics based on the electric field saturation concept

The electrical field saturation model is applied to the fracture prediction of piezoelectric materials containing electrically impermeable cracks. This model is analogously similar to the electric displacement saturation model that available in the literature. An electrical field saturation strip near the crack front is introduced in the analytical model. The stress intensity factor K and the energy release rate G are obtained in closed-form. It is found that fracture predictions based on K and G criteria are identical. Fracture predictions based on the electric field saturation model and the electric displacement model are also found to be the same.     

Elliptical crack and punch problems solved by integral equation method for piezoelectric media

The problem of an elliptical crack embedded in an unbounded transversely isotropic piezoelectric media with the crack-plane parallel to the plane of isotropy of the media and subjected to remote normal mechanical as well as electric loading is considered first. The problem has been successfully reduced to a pair of coupled integral equations that are suitable for the application of an integral equation method developed earlier for three-dimensional problems of LEFM. Solution to the mechanical displacement and electric potentials are obtained for prescribed uniform loadings and expressions for corresponding intensity factors and crack opening displacement are deduced. The above method has further been applied to solve the problem of a rigid flat-ended elliptical punch indenting a transversely isotropic piezoelectric half-space surface with the plane of isotropy parallel to the surface. Solutions to mechanical stress and electric displacement are obtained for prescribed constant normal displacement and constant electric potential interior to the elliptical region and expression for the total force required to maintain a prescribed indentation is deduced.     

Effect of Maxwell stress on a moving crack with polarization saturation region in ferroelectric solid

The focus of this work is on a generalized two-dimensional problem of a crack moving in a piezoelectric solid subjected to uniform electrical load at infinity. The novel point includes that the electric field inside the crack is taken into account when polarization saturation region exists. Based on the extended Stroh formalism and complex function method, explicit expressions of both the stress fields in the solid and electric fields inside the crack are derived by using semi-permeable crack model, respectively. Effect of Maxwell stress along the crack surface is investigated and the results are illustrated graphically. It is shown that the moving speed of the crack cannot exceed the lowest bulk wave speed. It is also found that the medium properties inside the crack and surrounding the ferroelectric solid at infinity directly affect the Maxwell stress, and as a result the Maxwell stresses are remarkable and cannot be ignored under different electric load.     

压电材料裂纹顶端条状电饱和区模型的力学分析

在线性压电本构方程框架下,对裂纹顶端条状电饱和区模型进行了严格的数学分析．完整地考虑了各向异性力电耦合效应．建立了电饱和区尺寸与外加电场的依赖关系．证实了当裂纹垂直极化轴时,压电材料的断裂应力随着外加正电场的增加而减小,随着外加负电场的增加而增加．当裂纹平行于极化轴时,与极化轴平行的外加电场对断裂应力无影响