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Determination of crack‐tip stress intensity factors in complex geometries by the composition of constituent weight function solutions
Author(s) -
BRENNAN F. P.,
TEH L. S.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
fatigue and fracture of engineering materials and structures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.887
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1460-2695
pISSN - 8756-758X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-2695.2004.00710.x
Subject(s) - stress intensity factor , weight function , fracture mechanics , stress (linguistics) , stress field , crack closure , materials science , crack growth resistance curve , function (biology) , mechanics , stress concentration , linear elasticity , structural engineering , mathematics , geometry , mathematical analysis , composite material , engineering , physics , finite element method , linguistics , philosophy , evolutionary biology , biology
Linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) is the science frequently used to understand the stable and progressive fatigue crack growth that often occurs in engineering components under varying applied stress. The stress intensity factor (SIF) is its basis and describes the stress state at the crack tip. This can be used with the appropriate material properties to calculate the rate at which the crack will propagate in a linear elastic manner. Unfortunately, the SIF is difficult to compute or measure, particularly if the crack is situated in a complex three‐dimensional geometry or subjected to a non‐simple stress state. This is because the SIF is not only a function of the crack and component geometry but is also dependent on the applied stress field. In the last 20 years, the SIF weight function has gained prominence as a method for calculating and presenting SIFs independent of applied stress. This paper demonstrates that the real promise of the SIF weight Function lies in its use to rapidly generate SIF solutions for cracks in complex geometries by simple composition of geometric influences from reference constituent solutions.