Plane strain problem of an elastic matrix containing multiple Gurtin–Murdoch material surfaces along straight segments

Abstract

This paper presents the study of the plane strain problem of an infinite isotropic elastic medium subjected to far-field load and containing multiple Gurtin–Murdoch material surfaces located along straight segments. Each material segment represents a membrane of vanishing thickness characterized by its own elastic stiffness and residual surface tension. The governing equations, the jump conditions, and the surface tip conditions are reviewed. The displacements in the matrix are sought as the sum of complex variable single-layer elastic potentials whose densities are equal to the jumps in complex tractions across the segments. The densities are found by solving the system of coupled hypersingular boundary integral equations. The approximations by a series of Chebyshev’s polynomials of the second kind are used with the square root weight functions chosen to satisfy the tip conditions automatically. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the influence of dimensionless parameters and to study the effects of interactions.