Eigenspectra and Orders of Singularity at a Crack Tip for a Power-Law Creeping Medium

The objective of this paper is to study the eigenspectrum of a creeping body with a static mode I crack. The coordinate perturbation technique is employed to pose the required asymptotic equations. To attain eigensolutions a numerical scheme is worked out and the results obtained provide the information including the number of singularities, and their orders, as well as the angular distributions of stresses. In particular, additional eigenvalues of the HRR/RR problem that have not been reported previously are presented in the context, indicating the fact that other singular fields may exist for the problem. The discussion is also performed to the higher order asymptotic solutions that differ from those resulting from the eigen expansion treatment. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.