The Surface Crack Problem for a Layered Elastic Medium with a Functionally Graded Nonhomogeneous Interface

Abstract

The plane elasticity solution is presented in this paper for the crack problem of a layered medium. A functionally graded interfacial region is assumed to exist as a distinct nonhomogeneous transitional layer with the exponentially varying elastic property between the dissimilar homogeneous surface layer and the substrate. The surface layer contains a crack perpendicular to the surface. Fourier transforms are used to formulate the problem in terms of a singular integral equation. The main results presented are the variations of the stress intensity factors as functions of geometric and material parameters of the layered medium.