MODE-III FRACTURE OF BONDED NON-HOMOGENEOUS MATERIALS

This study deals with the mode-III fracture of bonded non-homogeneous materials. Assuming that the shear moduli of the materials vary exponentially with the spatial coordinates, the problem is reduced to the solution of a singular integral equation with a Cauchy type kernel. It is shown that, as for homogeneous materials, the stresses have the usual square-root singularity. The stress intensity factors and the mode III strain energy release rate are computed for various values of the ratio of shear moduli and the non-homogeneity parameters alpha , beta //1, and beta //2. The results indicate that non-homogeneity may have a very significant effect on the fracture of bonded materials.