Abstract
This paper is concerned with the stress intensity factors (SIFs) of a rectangular plate with symmetric edge cracks and edge half-circular-hole cracks in tension (see Figs. 1 and 2) by using the displacement discontinuity method with crack-tip elements (a boundary element method) proposed recently by the author. It is found that the boundary element method is simple, yet accurate for calculating the SIFs of complex crack problems not only in infinite plate [1] but also in finite plate [2]. Specifically, detail solutions of the SIFs of the two plane elastic crack problems are given, which can reveal the effect of H/W on the SIFs. By comparing the calculated SIFs of the symmetric edge half-circular-hole cracks (Fig. 2) with those of the symmetric edge cracks (Fig. 1); in addition, a shielding effect of the half-circular hole on the SIFs of the symmetric edge half-circular-hole cracks are discussed in detail.
