Energy release rate for a thin curvilinear beam

Let a thin two-dimensional domain be in a plane strains state. It is made o f two materials separated by a regular curvilinear interface along of which a crack is assumed to propagate. The expression of the energy release rate is derived in local coordinates using the so-called theta -method. It is s hown that there are complementary terms related to the derivation of the lo cal metric. (C) 2000 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medica les Elsevier SAS.