Investigation of the behavior of a crack between two half-planes of functionally graded materials by using the Schmidt method

In this paper, the behavior of a crack between two half-planes of functionally graded materials subjected to arbitrary tractions is resolved using a somewhat different approach, named the Schmidt method. To make the analysis tractable, it is assumed that the Poisson's ratios of the mediums are constants and the shear modulus vary exponentially with coordinate parallel to the crack. By use of the Fourier transform, the problem can be solved with the help of two pairs of dual integral equations in which the unknown variables are the jumps of the displacements across the crack surfaces. 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 effect of the crack length and the parameters describing the functionally graded materials upon the stress intensity factor of the crack. It can be shown 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. 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.