Evaluation of fracture mechanics parameters for a general corner using a weight function method

Summary The weight function method (WFM) has been used recently as a reliable tool for evaluation of fracture mechanics parameters, where cracks are represented by zero opening traction free surfaces. The purpose of this paper is to extend this technique to general opening corner problem. The two dimensional singular fields for displacements and stresses are introduced in terms of generalized Bueckner's strength. By means of eigenvalue analysis the stress intensity factors (SIF) are then formulated after appropriate splitting the regular stress and displacement fields into symmetric and antisymmetric modes. Using Betti's reciprocal theorem, a new expression in a more general closed form is derived for Bueckner's strength consisten with the given nonzero opening case. The potentiality of the method is demonstrated by a numerical example for =/2 corner problem. The stress intensity factor for the symmetric mode is evaluated by WFM and by a simple collocation procedure using both boundary element (BE) and finite element (FE) discretization.