Multiple crack problems of antiplane elasticity in an infinite body

Twe elementary solutions are presented for case of a pair of normal or tangential concentrated unit forces acting at a point of both edges of a single crack in an infinite plane isotropic elastic medium. Using these two elementary solutions and the principle of superposition, we found that the multiple crack problems can be easily converted into a system of Fredholm integral equations. Finally, the system obtained is solved numerically and the values of the stress intensity factors at the crack tips can be easily calculated. Two numerical examples are given in this paper. A system of Fredholm integral equations is complex form is also presented. We found that the system of Fredholm integral equations can be easily reduced from the system of singular integral equations given by Panasyuk[1]     

Efficient algorithm for edge cracked geometries

The stress field in a finite, edge cracked specimen under load is computed using algorithms based on two slightly different integral equations of the second kind. These integral equations are obtained through left regularizations of a first kind integral equation. In numerical experiments it is demonstrated that the stress field can be accurately computed. Highly accurate stress intensity factors and T‐stresses are presented for several setups and extensive comparisons with results from the literature are made. For simple geometries the algorithms presented here achieve relative errors of less than 10^?10. It is also shown that the present algorithms can accurately handle both geometries with arbitrarily shaped edge cracks and geometries containing several hundred edge cracks. All computations were performed on an ordinary workstation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new boundary integral equation method for analysis of cracked linear elastic bodies

Abstract

A novel integral equation method is developed in this paper for the analysis of two‐dimensional general anisotropic elastic bodies with cracks. In contrast to the conventional boundary integral methods based on reciprocal work theorem, the present method is derived from Stroh's formalism for anisotropic elasticity in conjunction with Cauchy's integral formula. The proposed boundary integral equations contain boundary displacement gradients and tractions on the non‐crack boundary and the dislocations on the crack lines. In cases where only the crack faces are subjected to tractions, the integrals on the non‐crack boundary are non‐singular. The boundary integral equations can be solved using Gaussian‐type integration formulas directly without dividing the boundary into discrete elements. Numerical examples of stress intensity factors are given to illustrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the present method.     

The torsion problem for a circular cylinder with radial edge cracks

Summary A finite Mellin transform technique reduces the torsion problem for a circular cylinder with radial edge cracks to that of solving some integral equations. Expressions are found for the stress intensity factors and crack formation energy. Three particular cases are considered in detail and numerical results given.     

A boundary integral approach for plane analysis of electrically semi-permeable planar cracks in a piezoelectric solid

A plane electro-elastostatic problem involving arbitrarily located planar stress free cracks which are electrically semi-permeable is considered. Through the use of the numerical Green's function for impermeable cracks, the problem is formulated in terms of boundary integral equations which are solved numerically by a boundary element procedure together with a predictor–corrector method. The crack tip stress and electric displacement intensity factors can be easily computed once the boundary integral equations are properly solved.     

Boundary integral equation method to solve embedded planar crack problems under shear loading

The solution of three-dimensional planar cracks under shear loading are investigated by the boundary integral equation method. A system of two hypersingular integral equations of a three-dimensional elastic solid with an embedded planar crack are given. The solution of the boundary integral equations is succeeded taking into consideration an appropriate Gauss quadrature rule for finite part integrals which is suitable for the numerical treatment of any plane crack without a polygonal contour shape and permit the fast convergence for the results. The stress intensity factors at the crack front are calculated in the case of a circular and an elliptic crack and are compared with the analytical solution.     

An anisotropic layered material with a crack

Summary The problem of an anisotropic layered material which contains a plane crack in its interior is considered here. The problem is reduced to a set of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind which may be solved iteratively. Once these integral equations are solved, the crack tip stress intensity factors may be readily computed. Numerical results for some particular examples involving transversely isotropic materials are given here.     

Two bonded half planes with a crack going through the interface

The plane problem of two bonded elastic half planes containing a finite crack perpendicular to and going through the interface is considered. The problem is formulated as a system of singular integral equations with generalized Cauchy kernels. Even though the system has three irregular points, it is shown that the unknown functions are algebraically related at the irregular point on the interface and the integral equations can be solved by a method developed previously. The system of integral equations is shown to yield the same characteristic equation as that for two bonded quarter planes in the general case of the through crack, and the characteristic equation for a crack tip terminating at the interface in the special case. The numerical results given in the paper include the stress intensity factors at the crack tips, the normal and shear components of the stress intensity factors at the singular point on the interface, and the crack surface displacements.     

The longitudinal shear problem for an array of cracks at the edge of a circular hole in an infinite elastic solid

Summary A Mellin-type transform technique reduces the longitudinal shear problem for a set of cracks at the edge of a circular hole in an infinite elastic solid to that of solving a system of integral equations. The stress intensity factors and crack formation energy are calculated. Three special cases are considered in detail and graphical results given.     

Stress intensity factors around a crack parallel to a free surface of a half-plane

In this paper, stress intensity factors for a crack in a half-plane are considered. The crack is parallel to the stress-free surface of the half-plane and subjected to internal gas pressure. By using Fourier transforms, the mixed boundary value problem is reduced to the solution of a pair of dual integral equations. To solve the equations, the crack surface displacements are expanded in a series of functions which are zero outside the crack. The unknown coefficients in that series are solved with the aid of the Schmidt method. The stress intensity factors are calculated numerically and the results are compared with those given in other papers.     

Evaluation of fracture parameters in continuously nonhomogeneous piezoelectric solids

A contour integral method is developed for computation of stress intensity and electric intensity factors for cracks in continuously nonhomogeneous piezoelectric body under a transient dynamic load. It is shown that the asymptotic fields in the crack-tip vicinity in a continuously nonhomogeneos medium is the same as in a homogeneous one. A meshless method based on the local Petrov-Galerkin approach is applied for computation of physical fields occurring in the contour integral expressions of intensity factors. A unit step function is used as the test functions in the local weak-form. This leads to local integral equations (LBIEs) involving only contour-integrals on the surfaces of subdomains. The moving least-squares (MLS) method is adopted for approximating the physical quantities in the LBIEs. The accuracy of the present method for computing the stress intensity factors (SIF) and electrical displacement intensity factors (EDIF) are discussed by comparison with available analytical or numerical solutions.     

Stress intensity factors for two rectangular cracks in three-dimensions

In this paper an analytical solution is developed for two three-dimensional coplanar rectangular-shaped cracks embedded in an infinite elastic medium and subjected to normal loading. Employing two-dimensional integral transforms, the solution of the problem is reduced to triple integral equations. Assuming the plane strain solution across the lengths of the narrow cracks, an approximate solution of the triple integral equations for large values of the lengths of the cracks is obtained. Finally, expressions are obtained for the stress intensity factors along the sides of the cracks and these results are given in the form of graphs.     

Doubly periodic arrays of cracks and thin inhomogeneities in an infinite magnetoelectroelastic medium

A two-dimensional boundary element method for the analysis of a magnetoelectroelastic medium containing doubly periodic sets of cracks or thin inclusions is developed in this paper. The integral equations and closed-form expressions for corresponding kernels are obtained. Based on the quasi-periodicity of extended displacement and stress function, the integral representations for average stress, strain, electric displacement, magnetic induction etc. are developed. The algorithm of effective properties determination is given. The numerical examples prove the efficiency and high accuracy of the proposed approach in determination of stress, electric displacement and magnetic induction intensity factors and effective properties of the material containing doubly periodic arrays of cracks or thin inclusions.     

Stable algorithm for the stress field around a multiply branched crack

We present an algorithm for the computation of the stress field around a branched crack. The algorithm is based on an integral equation with good numerical properties. Our equation is obtained through a left regularization of an integral equation of Fredholm's first kind. Complex valued functions involving repeated products of square roots appear in the regularization. A new and effective scheme for correct evaluation of these functions is described. For validation, mode I and II stress intensity factors are computed for simple branched geometries. The relative errors in the stress intensity factors are typically as low as 10^?12. A large scale example is also presented, where a crack with 176 branching points is studied. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary element analysis of structures with bridged interfacial cracks

The direct boundary integral equations method has been applied to analyze stresses in a fracture process zone (a crack bridged zone) and to calculate stress intensity factors module for structures with bridged interfacial cracks under mechanical loading. Bridged zones at interfacial cracks are considered as parts of these cracks with assumption that surfaces of interfacial cracks are connected by distributed spring-like bonds with given bond deformation law. For numerical analysis of piecewise structures with bridged interfacial cracks the multi-domain formulation of the boundary elements method is used. The stress intensity factors module evaluation is performed on the basis of displacements and stresses computed at nodal points of special quadratic boundary elements adjoined to a crack tip. The comparative study between the results obtained by the boundary elements method and the results obtained previously by the singular integral–differential equations method is performed and the validity of the presented numerical formulation is demonstrated. The new problem for a bridged circumferential crack between a cylindrical inclusion and a matrix in plate of finite size is also solved. Stresses distributions along the bridged zone and the stress intensity factors modulus dependencies versus the bridged zone length and bonds stiffness are presented and discussed for this problem.     

Analysis of an orthotropic strip containing multiple defects bonded between two piezoelectric layers

In this paper, the problem of multiple defects in an orthotropic layer bonded between two piezoelectric layers is considered. The analysis is based on the stress fields caused by Volterra-type screw dislocation in the orthotropic strip. The solution for the dislocation is obtained by means of the complex Fourier transform. The dislocation solution is then employed as strain nuclei to derive singular integral equations for a medium weakened by multiple defects. These equations, as a class of Cauchy singular equations, are solved numerically for dislocation density functions. A number of examples is given for various crack orientations and material properties. At the end, it is shown that the effect of the properties and defect geometries on the stress intensity factors and hoop stress for cavities can be highly significant.     

Determination of stress intensity factor solutions for cracks in finite-width functionally graded materials

A generalized method to determine the stress intensity factor equations for cracks in finite-width specimens of functionally graded materials (FGMs), based on force balance in regions ahead of the crack tip is provided. The method uses the Westergaard's stress distribution ahead of the crack in an infinite plate and is based on the requirement of isostrain deformation of layers of varying moduli ahead of the crack tip. It is shown that the modified Westergaard equation describes the normal stress distribution and the singular stress state ahead of the crack tip in a reasonably accurate manner. Based on this, closed-form analytical equations for the stress intensity factors of cracks in finite-width center cracked specimens were derived. Comparisons of the K values from the analytical equations with that obtained from FEM simulations indicate that the derived stress intensity factor equations for FGMs are reasonably accurate. For the finite-width center-cracked-tension (CCT) specimen, the errors are less than 10% for most of the crack lengths for materials with the outer layer modulus ratios varying from 0.2 to 5. The stress intensity factors were found to be sensitive to the absolute values of moduli of the layers, the modulus ratio of the outer layers as well as the nature of gradation including the increasing and the decreasing functional forms. The stress intensity factor equations are convenient for engineering estimates of stress intensity factors as well as in the experimental determinations of fracture toughness of FGMs.     

Three iterative methods for the numerical determination of stress intensity factors

Three iterative methods for the numerical determination of stress intensity factors at crack tips (by using the method of singular integral equations with Cauchy-type kernels) are proposed. These methods are based on the Neumann iterative method for the solution of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. Two of these methods are essentially used for the solution of the system of linear algebraic equations to which the singular integral equation is reduced when the direct Lobatto-Chebyshev method is used for its approximate solution, whereas the third method is a generalization of the first two and is related directly to the singular integral equation to be solved. The proposed methods are useful for the determination of stress intensity factors at crack tips. Some numerical results obtained in a crack problem show the effectiveness of all three methods.     

Three-dimensional crack problem analysis using boundary element method with finite-part integrals

A set of hypersingular integral equations of a three-dimensional finite elastic solid with an embedded planar crack subjected to arbitrary loads is derived. Then a new numerical method for these equations is proposed by using the boundary element method combined with the finite-part integral method. According to the analytical theory of the hypersingular integral equations of planar crack problems, the square root models of the displacement discontinuities in elements near the crack front are applied, and thus the stress intensity factors can be directly calculated from these. Finally, the stress intensity factor solutions to several typical planar crack problems in a finite body are evaluated. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Fracture parameters of a penny-shaped crack at the interface of a piezoelectric bi-material system

A penny-shaped crack at the interface of a piezoelectric bi-material system is considered. Analytical general solutions based on Hankel integral transforms are used to formulate the mixed-boundary value problem corresponding to an interfacial crack and the problem is reduced to a system of singular integral equations. The integral equations are further reduced to two systems of algebraic equations with the aid of Jacobi polynomials and Chebyshev polynomials. Thereafter, the exact expressions for the stress intensity factors and the electric displacement intensity factor at the tip of a crack are obtained. Selected numerical results are presented for various bi-material systems to portray the significant features of crack tip fracture parameters and their dependence on material properties, poling orientation and electric loading.