Two coplanar Griffith cracks in an infinitely long elastic strip

Abstract

We consider the problem of determining the stress intensity factors and the crack energy in an infinitely long isotropic, homogeneous elastic strip containing two coplanar Griffith cracks. We assume that the cracks are opened by an internal pressure and the edges of the strip are rigidly fixed. By the use of Fourier transforms we reduce the problem to solving a set of triple integral equations with cosine kernel and a weight function. The triple integral equations are solved exactly. Exact analytical expressions are derived for the stress intensity factors, shape of the deformed crack and the crack energy. Solutions to some particular problems are derived as limiting cases.