Calculating stress intensity factors for a semi-elliptical surface crack in a heterogeneous stress field

The author proposes an equation for calculating the stress intensity factor (SIF) for a semi-elliptical surface crack for uniform, linear, and quadratic laws of variation of the load applied to its edges. The derivation of the equation is based on the well-known Newman—Raju solution for a bent plate. The distribution of the values of SIF along the crack front, obtained using the empirical equations, coincides with the results of calculations carried out using the finite element method (FEM).Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 7, pp. 38–41, July, 1990.