Antiplane Crack Problem in Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Materials

In this paper the problem of a finite crack in a strip of functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) is studied. It is assumed that the elastic stiffness, piezoelectric constant, and dielectric permitivity of the FGPM vary continuously along the thickness of the strip, and that the strip is under an antiplane mechanical loading and in-plane electric loading. By using the Fourier transform, the problem is first reduced to two pairs of dual integral equations and then into Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. The near-tip singular stress and electric fields are obtained from the asymptotic expansion of the stresses and electric fields around the crack tip. It is found that the singular stresses and electric displacements at the tip of the crack in the functionally graded piezoelectric material carry the same forms as those in a homogeneous piezoelectric material but that the magnitudes of the intensity factors are dependent upon the gradient of the FGPM properties. The investigation on the influences of the FGPM graded properties shows that an increase in the gradient of the material properties can reduce the magnitude of the stress intensity factor.