A simplified evaluation of the mechanical energy release rate of kinked cracks in piezoelectric materials using the boundary element method

Based on the concept of the hoop field intensity factors of an initial crack prior to any kink, an apparent hoop mechanical (strain) energy release rate (MERR) is defined to approximate the MERR of a piezoelectric crack with an infinitesimal kink at any arbitrary angle. The validity and the efficiency of the simplified approximation are examined by numerical examples using the boundary element method (BEM). The generalized...