Analysis of thermal stress intensity factors for cracked cylinders using weight function method

In this paper a general weight function was derived to evaluate the thermal stress intensity factors of a circumferential crack in cylinders. The weight function derived is valid for a wide range of thin- to thick-walled cylinders and relative crack depth. Closed-form stress intensity factor based on the weight function method was derived as a function of the Biot number and relative depth and various inner-to-outer radius ratios of cylinders. The accuracy of the analysis has been examined using the finite element method results and were compared to existing solutions for uniform loading in the literature for special geometries, indicating an excellent agreement.