Tuning of non-uniform switch toughening in ferroelectric composites by an electric field

This paper deals with a mode III interfacial crack subject to anti-plane stress and in-plane electric fields. The analysis concentrates on the tuning of fracture toughness from non-uniform ferroelectric-ferroelastic domain switch-ing by an electric field. The electric loading changes the size of the asymmetric switching zone. Employing the weight function method, we obtain the electrically-dependent switch toughening for stationary and quasi-static growing interfacial cracks, respectively. Multi-domain solutions are derived for non-poled and fully-poled ferroelectric composites. Numer-ical results are presented on the electric field tuning of the critical applied stress intensity factor. The research provides ways to optimize fracture properties of ferroelectric compos-ites by altering the electric field.