Zhi-hai Wang

Thermal fracture model for a functionally graded material with general thermomechanical properties and collinear cracks

ABSTRACT In this article, a fracture mechanics model for functionally graded materials (FGMs) with general thermomechanical properties and collinear cracks under thermal loading is proposed. Assuming the thermomechanical properties of FGM strip to be general continuous functions of the coordinate in the thickness direction, the FGM strip is divided into a multilayered medium with the thermomechanical properties varying exponentially in each layer. Using the superposition method, the problem is reduced to a perturbation problem in which the crack surface tractions are the only external forces. Finally, the crack problem is reduced to integral equations with generalized Cauchy kernel and solved numerically. Some typical examples are discussed and the thermal stress intensity factors (TSIFs) for the collinear cracks are presented. The influences of the geometry parameters and the interaction between both collinear cracks on the TSIFs are discussed. Some important conclusions are drawn.