Weight Function Method for Stress Intensity Factor of Internal Surface Semi-elliptical Crack in Elliptical Holes

The hatches for inspecting are usually designed with elliptical holes in airplane structures, so computation of the stress intensity factor of three dimensional crack at elliptical holes is pivotal for damage tolerance analysis of these structures. In this paper, weight function is derived for a two dimensional through cracks at elliptical holes by applying a compounding method. Stress intensity factor formulas for an internal surface semi-elliptical crack in elliptical holes are obtained using the three dimensional weight function method. Stress intensity factors for an internal surface semi-elliptical crack in elliptical holes under remote tension are computed. At the same time, research on how radius of curvature for elliptical holes affect stress intensity factors was conducted. Stress intensity factors decrease when radius of curvature increases. Some results and conclusions which are of practical value are given.