On the contact zone and stress singularities of a subinterface crack

The subinterface Griffith crack was studied by Yang and Kim (Engng. Fract. Mech. 14 (1993) 155) with consideration of a contact zone at the right crac k tip. The crack was modeled by continuously distributed dislocations, with B-x and B-y as the gliding and climbing dislocation density functions, res pectively. This problem is re-examined in the present study since the assum ption of the climbing dislocation density B-y inside the crack being singul ar at the end of the contact zone seems not appropriate in the work of Yang and Kim. if there is a contact zone at the right crack tip, B-y should be bounded at the crack tip. The dislocation density function and stress near the crack tips are analyzed in detail in the present paper. As a result, it is found that the shear stress is singular at both the crack tips, while t he normal stress is singular at the left-hand side crack tip but bounded at the right-hand side crack tip. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.