Digital Repository, CP2009

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A weight function method to predict mode I stress intensityfactors of multiple cracks
M.S. Abdul Manan, F.P. Brennan

Last modified: 2013-03-15

Abstract


It is known that a powerful feature of a weight function approach is theability to determine stress intensity factor (SIF) solutions for an arbitrary appliedstress. The weight function is a universal function of a cracked body for any givengeometry. Weight function methods have been applied extensively to problemsconcerning a single crack. So far, no attempt has been made to use a weight functionmethod to determine the Mode I crack tip SIF of multiple cracks. This paper discussesthe development of a novel weight function method in order to predict Mode I SIFs oftwo edge cracks in a finite body under uniform tension. The crack interaction effect wasestablished using a non-uniform stress distribution along the potential crack plane tosimulate the presence of an additional edge crack. The FE modelling technique used inthis paper is also briefly discussed. Overall results obtained from the weight functionapproach are encouraging as they display the general expected trend and compare wellto the FEA results. The results demonstrate that the weight function method can be usedto determine SIFs for multiple cracks provided that the stress distribution along thepotential crack plane is known.

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