Singular stress and electric fields of piezoelectric ceramic strip with a finite crack under longitudinal shear (Q1367285)

The authors investigate the singular stress and electric field at the tip of a finite crack in an orthotropic, piezoelectric ceramic strip subjected to a uniform longitudinal shear stress (or strain), and to a uniform normal electric field (or induction) at the boundary. The problem is considerably simplified by considering an in-plane electric field and an out-of-plane displacement only. A Fourier transform is applied, resulting in two simultaneous (dual) integral equations. These, in turn, are reduced to a Fredhol integral equation of the second kind which is solved numerically. The energy release rate is calculated, and numerical results are presented and plotted to display the influence of the electric field on the stress intensity factor and on the energy release rate. In particular, the authors show that this influence cannot be disregarded for some types of boundary conditions.