Stress analysis of a penny-shaped crack in a magneto-electro-thermo-elastic layer under uniform heat flow and shear loads

This article analyzes the mechanical behavior induced by a penny-shaped crack in a magneto-electro-thermal-elastic layer that is subjected to a heat flow. The surfaces of the magneto-electro-thermal-elastic layer are subjected to radial shear loads, and the crack is assumed to be thermally insulated. The Hankel transform technique is employed to reduce the problem to a Fredholm integral equation, which is then solved numerically. Shear stress intensity factors (SIFs) are obtained and discussed in detail. Numerical results reveal that in the case of only applied shear loads, the layer height has insignificant effects on the SIF when the ratio of the half-layer height h to crack radius a is larger than 2, and that in the case of only applied heat flow, the layer height also has insignificant effects on the crack extension force when h/a > 8. It is further interesting to note that for the magneto-electro-thermo-elastic layer under only applied heat flow, there exists a critical height as far as the stability of the crack is concerned.