Mathematical model of delamination cracks on imperfect interfaces

A mathematical model of a crack along a thin and soft interface layer is st udied in this paper. This type of interface could arise in a ceramic suppor t that has been coated with a layer of high surface area material which con tains the dispersed catalyst. Asymptotic analysis is applied to replace the interface layer with a set of effective contact conditions. We use the wor ds "imperfect interface" to emphasise that the solution (the temperature or displacement field) is allowed to have a non-zero jump across the interfac e. Compared to classical formulations for cracks in dissimilar media (where ideal contact conditions are specified outside the crack), in our case the gradient field for the temperature (or displacement) is characterised by a weak logarithmic singularity. The scalar case for the Laplacian operator a s well as the vector elasticity problem are considered. Numerical results a re presented for a two-phase elastic strip containing a finite crack on an imperfect interface. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.