An Interface Crack for a Functionally Graded Strip Sandwiched Between Two Homogeneous Layers of Finite Thickness

In this paper, the behavior of an interface crack for a functionally graded strip sandwiched between two homogeneous layers of finite thickness subjected to an uniform tension is resolved using a somewhat different approach, named the Schmidt method. The Fourier transform technique is applied and a mixed boundary value problem is reduced to two pairs of dual integral equations in which the unknown variables are the jumps of the displacements across the crack surface. To solve the dual integral equations, the jumps of the displacements across the crack surfaces are expanded in a series of Jacobi polynomials. This process is quite different from those adopted in previous works. Numerical examples are provided to show the effects of the crack length, the thickness of the material layer and the materials constants upon the stress intensity factor of the cracks. It can be obtained that the results of the present paper are the same as ones of the same problem that was solved by the singular integral equation method. As a special case, when the material properties are not continuous through the crack line, an approximate solution of the interface crack problem is also given under the assumption that the effect of the crack surface interference very near the crack tips is negligible. Contrary to the previous solution of the interface crack, it is found that the stress singularities of the present interface crack solution are the same as ones of the ordinary crack in homogenous materials.