Crack energy density of a piezoelectric material under general electromechanical loading

Crack energy density is considered and used as a possible fracture parameter in piezoelectricity under arbitrary electromechanical remote loads. The closed-form solution of a crack in a piezoelectric infinite plate subjected to general static electromechanical loading is obtained through a method alternative to the more common Stroh’s formalism. This analytical method, which is based on the spectral theorem of linear algebra, involves a transformation of similarity induced by the fundamental matrix in order to express the equations governing the problem in terms of complex potentials. The application of the mechanical boundary condition of stress-free crack and of one of the three considered electric boundary conditions (impermeable, permeable or semipermeable) leads then to the formulation of a Hilbert problem whose solution yields the stress and displacement fields. The crack energy density factors for mixed mode are then calculated under different mechanical and electrical loadings, as well as under different electric boundary conditions. The non-singular terms of the stress expressions are retained as well. The definition of the minimum energy density fracture criterion, as proposed by Sih, is given, and the influence of load biaxiality and positive or negative applied electric field on the criterion results is analyzed. The prediction of the incipient branching angle as from the energy density approach is also compared to that arising from the maximum circumferential stress theory for a mixed mode loading condition. Numerical results and graphs are presented and discussed for a PZT-4 piezoelectric ceramic.