Equivalent Homogeneous Variable Depth Beams for Cracked FGM Beams; Compliance Approach.

We explore the compliance approach for K _I evaluation of a cracked three point beam (TPB) of functionally graded material (FGM). We suggest an equivalent beam of variable height for cracked FGM beams which includes the homogeneous beam for the linear, quadratic and cubic variations in elastic modulus along the beam span. The efficacy of equivalent beams is demonstrated numerically on a 250 × 41 × 6 mm FGM beam with modulus varying from 210 – 315 GPa under 5000 N load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]