Interface tunnel cracks in a composite anisotropic space

Exact solutions of the problem of tunnel cracks in the plane between two anisotropic half-spaces which are in conditions of generalized plane deformation (without the presence of planes of elastic symmetry) are obtained. Using the proposed procedure, which rests on constructed solutions of the Riemann matrix problem in the space of generalized functions of slow growth, the problem is reduced to a system of singular integral equations. Exact solutions of this system are constructed, which enable the conditions for which zones of overlap of the crack surfaces to be obtained, as well as formulae for calculating the dimensions of these zones, and enable the normal fracture stresses and limit values of the stress intensity factors to be determined. The behaviour of these quantities for different combinations of materials of the monoclinic and orthorhombic systems for orthogonal transformations of the principal axes of symmetry is investigated. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.