Abstract
The eight noded quarter-point Serendipity quadrilateral isoparametric element is reexamined. The stresses are proven to be square-root singular on all rays in a small region adjacent to the crack tip and, as was previously shown, along the element sides. It is demonstrated that the element strain energy, and hence its stiffness, is bounded. The effect of element size in characterizing the square-root singular behavior is investigated through stress intensity factor calculations in the case of two geometries with crack tip elements of various dimensions. Workers in the field of fracture mechanics may now, without hesitation, employ this element for modeling crack tip singularities in linear elastic material.
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