Determination of Fracture Parameters for Multiple Edge Cracks of a Finite Plate

Abstract

A predictive method for the estimation of stress state at the zone of a crack tip and the assessment of remaining component life depend on the stress intensity factor. As a part of a linear elastic fracture mechanics analysis the determination of the stress intensity factor is a crucial point. This paper presents the finite element approach for the prediction of the stress intensity factor for multiple offset edge crack configurations. The predicted stress intensity factors are validated with an analytical approach and good agreement is established. Typical numerical results are presented to examine the effect of changing the crack tip distance, crack offset distance, and thickness on stress intensity factor of a finite aluminium alloy plate. Based on the analysis results, a new mathematical model for estimation of geometrical factor for multiple offset edge crack configurations are introduced and some new results are presented that show efficacy of the present approach.