BOUNDARY ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF CRACKS NORMAL TO BIMATERIAL INTERFACES

The singularity of stress at the tip of a crack, which is normal to the interface of two different materials, varies depending on the material properties of the two materials. A subdomain boundary element technique is used to solve the interface crack problems. A shape function, containing the same order of singularity as that in the interface cracks, is used for the interpolation of tractions, and a correct order of shape function is also used for displacements. Some numerical examples show that the present analyses yield good solutions for these interface crack problems.