Dynamic steady-state mode III fracture in a nonhomogeneous viscoelastic body (Q1912982)

The authors study the problem of a propagating semi-infinite mode III crack in an infinite inhomogeneous viscoelastic body. Expressions for the stress and displacement are derived from the solution to the corresponding Riemann-Hilbert problem, and a closed-form expression is derived for the energy release rate. Numerical results are presented for standard linear solid viscoelastic material. The paper extends previous quasi-static results of the same authors to the fully dynamic case.