A crack in a confocal elliptical inhomogeneity embedded in an infinite matrix subjected to uniform heat flux

We derive a series-form analytical solution to the thermoelastic problem of an insulated and traction-free crack in a confocal elliptical isotropic elastic inhomogeneity embedded in an infinite isotropic elastic matrix subjected to uniform remote heat flux. Using complex variable techniques such as conformal mapping, analytic continuation and Laurent series expansions, the original thermoelastic problem is reduced to an infinite system of linear algebraic equations, the solution of which will yield the mode I and mode II stress intensity factors at the crack tip. An exact closed-form solution is derived when the inhomogeneity and the matrix have identical shear moduli. Detailed numerical results are presented to demonstrate the series-form and closed-form solutions with an emphasis on the particular case of a vanishingly thin inhomogeneity.