Growth of a mode II crack in an orthotropic plate made of a viscoelastic composite material.

The growth of a straight mode II crack in a viscoelastic orthotropic plate is examined. The plate material is modeled by a viscoelastic anisotropic medium. The shear displacement in the fracture process zone is determined as a function of time using the corresponding elastic solution, the Volterra principle, and the method of operator continued functions. The time dependence of the crack length is constructed as integral equations of three phases of stable growth. The solution of these equations gives kinetic curves [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]