Transient electromechanical cracking of finite piezoelectric bodies

This article studies the problem of a finite crack in a finite piezoelectric medium subjected to transient electric and mechanical loads. Unlike past studies that mainly focused on the infinitesimal cracks, the current article considers the effect of the medium boundaries on the transient fracture behavior of piezoelectric materials. A system of singular integral equations is formulated in terms of the crack surface displacement and electric potential. Effects of crack length and medium size on the crack-tip field intensity factors are investigated in detail. Numerical results for the time-dependent stress and electric displacement intensity factors are obtained. Electrically impermeable crack assumption, electrically permeable crack assumption, and notch of finite height are investigated. Some new conclusions are drawn.