Analysis of a penny-shaped crack with semi-permeable boundary conditions across crack face in a 3D thermal piezoelectric semiconductor

Abstract

In this paper, we study a penny-shaped crack model with electrically and thermally semi-permeable boundary conditions in a three-dimensional transversely isotropic piezoelectric semiconductor. An extended displacement discontinuity boundary element method together with an iterative process is proposed to analyze the penny-shaped crack model. The extended displacement discontinuities across crack face, electric displacement and heat flux along an inner crack cavity, as well as extended stress intensity factors near crack front are obtained via the proposed method. The effects on extended intensity factors near crack front are discussed, including boundary conditions across crack face, applied loads and initial electron concentration. It is shown that boundary conditions across crack face significantly affect extended stress intensity factors near crack front. This implies that a larger initial electron concentration can lead to electrical failure.