Evaluation of T-stresses and stress intensity factors in stationary thermoelasticity by the coservation integral method

New methods for determining T-stresses and stress intensity factors in two-dimensional stationary thermoelasticity are presented. The methods utilize the path independence of J^-integral. The mutual M-integral expressed through J^-integrals provides sufficient information for determining T-stresses. The M-integral is composed of contour and domain integrals. Their integrands include the thermomechanical fields under consideration and mechanical fields corresponding to an auxiliary solution. The thermomechanical fields along the integration path and in the enclosed domain are obtained by the boundary element method. Stress intensity factors are calculated using the path independent J^-integral technique. This integral is expressed in a pure contour integral form. Numerical results for a cracked rectangular plate and thick-walled tube with internal cracks are presented. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.