FRICTIONAL CONTACT PROBLEM OF CRACKS IN FGMS UNDER MECHANICAL AND TIME-DEPENDENT THERMAL-STRESSES

This article provides a comprehensive numerical treatment of a finite crack in an interfacial layer with spatially varying elastic and therm al properties. it is assumed that material properties of the interfaci al layer depend only on the coordinate perpendicular to the crack surf aces and vary continuously between those of two dissimilar homogeneous bonding layers. Unlike earlier studies that considered the cracks enc ountered as open, the current investigation studies cracks in an essen tially compressive environment in which the crack faces are in contact and frictional effects play an important role. A finite element model utilizing a recently developed procedure that provides a simple and e fficient iterative technique to solve frictional contact problems unde r small deformations is employed Numerical examples are provided. Tran sient and steady-state stress intensity factors (SIFs) are calculated; and the variation in SIF due to change in material properties of the interfacial layer, the length of the crack, and the location of the cr ack in the interfacial layer ir studied.