Why traction-free? Piezoelectric crack and Coulombic traction

Abstract

The non-zero traction condition is introduced in piezoelectric crack problems with the unknown Coulombic traction acting on the crack surfaces. An analytical solution under this condition is obtained by means of the generalized Stroh formalism and by accounting for the permittivity of medium inside the crack gap. As the crack in such materials can be thought of as a low-capacitance medium carrying a potential drop, the Coulombic traction always pulls the two opposite surfaces of the crack together. It is proved that under relatively larger mechanical loading and relatively smaller electrical field, the Coulombic traction may be negligible and the previous investigations under the traction-free crack condition may be accepted in a tolerant way, otherwise the Coulombic traction may lead to some erroneous results with over 10% relative errors. It is also shown that, unlike the traction-free crack condition, the applied electric field does change the Mode I stress intensity factor (SIF) for a central crack in an infinite plane piezoelectric material, and in this way may significantly influence piezoelectric fracture. It is also concluded that the variable tendencies of the normalized SIF and the ERR against the applied electric field depend on the mechanical loading levels. This load-dependence feature may lead to a transformation of the normalized SIF and the ERR from an even functional dependence to an odd functional dependence on the applied electric field.