Layered composites with an interface flaw

Abstract The plane strain problem for a bonded medium composed of three different materials is considered. It is assumed that the medium contains a flaw on one of the interfaces which may be idealized as a crack. The integral equations for the general problem are obtained, which turn out to be a system of singular integral equations of the second kind. The singularity of the system is removed and the equations are solved by taking advantage of the fact that the fundamental function of the integral equations is the weight function of Jacobi polynomials. The problems for two half-planes joined through a layer, an elastic layer bonded to a half-plane and two bonded layers are solved as specific examples, and numerical results involving the stress intensity factors and the strain energy release rate are presented.