Stress intensity factors for internal and external cracks in pressurised thick-walled cylinders

Stress intensity factors for both internal and external semi-circular and semi-elliptical surface cracks in internally pressurised thick-walled cylinders of radius ratios between 2 and 3 are presented for a wide range of crack sizes. These solutions were obtained using the boundary integral equation (BIE) method for three-dimensional numerical stress analysis. Hoop strain distributions at the outer circumference of the cylinder are also presented for some external cracks, and shown to be useful for experimentally monitoring crack growth.