The paper deals with the buckling instability of long interface cracks subjected to shear and tensile (compressive) loading parallel to the interface. A simplified mathematical model is developed within the Kirchhoff's plate bending theory; and a general semi-analytical solution is obtained based on the classical strategy for solving for the Euler buckling load. Asymptotic solutions are derived for extreme cases of the applied shear to tensile (compressive) load ratios. The obtained results correlate well with previous numerical studies and can be used to analyze many traditional problems in composite as well as many others, for example, the problem of triggering snow avalanches.
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