Affiliations: Center for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, P. R. China | School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, P. R. China
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Shi-Dong Pan, P.O. Box 3010, No. 2 Yikuang Street, Center for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, P. R. China. Tel.: +86 451 8640 2376; E-mail: sd6419866@sina.com.
Abstract: The behavior of four parallel non-symmetric cracks with different lengths in a functionally graded material plane subjected to anti-plane shear stress loading was studied by the Schmidt method. The problem was formulated through Fourier transform into four pairs of dual integral equations, in which the unknown variables are the jumps of displacements across the crack surfaces. To solve the dual integral equations, the jumps of displacements across the crack surfaces were directly expanded as a series of Jacobi polynomials. The results show that the stress intensity factors at the crack tips depend on the crack lengths, spacing of cracks and the material parameters. It was also revealed that the crack shielding effect presents in functionally graded materials.