A parametric finite element study of cracked plates and shells

The overall behavior of plates and shells as affected by the presence of a through crack in the elastic range has been studied. Due attention has been paid to finite element modeling aspects of the problem. Forty different cracked plate and shell FE models have been generated and analyzed by a special computer program developed for the purpose of this study. The significance of various parameters such as the order of mesh refining at the crack tip, the effect of boundary conditions, Poisson's ratio, crack length and shell curvature are studied. FE model consisting of isoparametric 4-noded shell elements moderately refined at the crack tip predicted the overall stress and displacement field with acceptable precision.