A mode II crack problem with sliding contact in an orthotropic strip

The problem of a centrally cracked, linear elastic orthotropic strip loaded in bending by three point forces is analyzed and discussed. Coulomb friction is assumed between the crack faces to study the influence of the friction coefficient on the strain energy release rate. Under certain simplifying assumptions the problem is reduced to the solution of a singular integral equation which is evaluated numerically. The results are compared with the solution of the same problem obtained using the beam theory; limits of the application of beam theory for the reduction of experimental data are discussed.