• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.26-34
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• 2008

This article provides a comprehensive treatment of cracks in non-homogeneous structural materials such as functionally graded materials (FGMs). It is assumed that the material properties depend only on the coordinate perpendicular to the crack surfaces and vary continuously along the crack faces. By using laminated composite plate model to simulate the material non-homogeneity, we present an algorithm for solving the system based on Laplace transform and Fourier transform techniques. Unlike earlier studies that considered certain assumed property distributions and a single crack problem, the current investigation studies multiple crack problem in the FGMs with arbitrarily varying material properties. As a numerical illustration, transient thermal flow intensity factors for a metal-ceramic joint specimen with a functionally graded interlayer subjected to sudden heating on its boundary are presented. The results obtained demonstrate that the present model is an efficient tool in the fracture analysis of non-homogeneous material with properties varying in the thickness direction.