Three-Dimensional Analysis of Cracking in a Multilayered Composite

Abstract

The three-dimensional problem of a multilayered composite containing an arbitrarily oriented crack is considered in this paper. The crack problem is analyzed by the equivalent body force method, which reduces the problem to a set of singular integral equations. To compute the kernels of the integral equations, the stiffness matrix for the layered medium is formulated in the Hankel transformed domain. The transformed components of the Green’s functions and derivatives are determined by solving the stiffness matrix equations, and the kernels are evaluated by performing the inverse Hankel transform. The crack-opening displacements and the three modes of the stress intensity factor at the crack front are obtained by numerically solving the integral equations. Examples are given for a penny-shaped crack in a bimaterial and a three-material system, and for a semicircular crack in a single layer adhered to an elastic half-space.