THERMOELASTIC STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS FOR A CRACKED LAYER BETWEEN 2 DIFFERENT ANISOTROPIC SOLIDS

Steady-state anisotropic thermoelasticity equations are used to obtain the stress intensity factors for a cracked layer sandwiched between t wo different anisotropic elastic solids. The anisotropy is assumed to arise from discrete fibers whose orientation could alter with referenc e to the crack edges. A generalized plane deformation prevails in the dissimilar media domain with a line of discontinuity disturbing a unif orm heat flow. The flexibility/stiffness matrix approach is used such that the crack problem reduces to solving two sets of singular integra l equations. Numerical values of the crack tip stress-intensity factor s are obtained for various crack size, crack location, crack surface i nsulation, fiber volume fraction and orientation angles. The results a re displayed graphically.