A modified crack closure integral method for calculating stress intensity factors for cracked plates subject to bending loads

摘要

A method is developed to calculate strain energy release rates, G, or stress intensity factors, K, using only nodal forces and displacements from a standard finite element analysis code. The method is an extension of the modified crack closure integral (MCCI) approach to the bending of plates with through cracks. An examination of bending of plates with through cracks based on shear deformation theories has shown that the bending K depends strongly on the ratio of plate thickness, h, and half crack length, a. Hence, the need to examine the effect of h/a on the accuracy of G and K obtained by the MCCI approach is examined. The accuracy of the MCCI method is verified by analyzing a square plate with a central crack subjected to a uniform edge moment and comparing the results with those reported in the literature.