Thermal fracture characteristics of an interface crack subjected to temperature variations

Thermal fracture characteristics – the thermal energy release rate and thermal stress intensity factor of a semi-infinite crack at an interface between the two elastic isotropic materials, subjected to the temperature variations, are considered in this paper. Those characteristics are determined based on application of the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) concept. Expressions for obtained theoretical solutions are compared to solutions from literature and they are found to be more concise. Influence of the materials change on these two thermal fracture properties were observed, as well as the influence of the thickness ratio of the two layers constituting the interface.