Interfacial Slip Around Rigid Fiber Inclusions

Interface slip in a composite material is modeled by considering a finite length, rigid line inclusion (fiber) embedded in a two-dimensional elastic matrix with sliding fiber-matrix interface cracks extending from the fiber tips. The crack faces are assumed to remain in contact; the resulting fric tion forces between the crack faces are taken to be constant. A closed form solution for this problem is presented which is used to study the stable size of interface cracks based on the concept of a critical stress intensity factor. The relaxation of axial fiber force as a result of constant load debonding is examined. In addition, the change in fiber force due to stable unbonding under monotonic increasing loads is considered. Finally, the loading conditions leading to closed sliding cracks are identified.