INFLUENCE OF CRACK CLOSURE ON THE STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR IN BENDING PLATES - A CLASSICAL PLATE SOLUTION

Based on the classical plate theory in conjunction with the assumption of line contact at the compressive edge of a crack face, closed form solutions were presented for a through-the-thickness central crack in an infinite plate subjected to all around bending. The complete solutions were obtained by superposing the membrane components due to the contact forces at the crack face to the non-closure bending components. The distribution of the contact forces was found uniform by considering the contact condition which prevents mutual penetration of the crack faces at the compressive edges. The results showed that the closure of the crack faces tends to reduce the crack opening displacement at the tension side and, consequently, reduce the stress intensity factor. The finite element method was also used to investigate the present problem. The modified crack closure method in combination with the finite element method was used to find the stress intensity factors. Close agreement between the finite element and the analytical solutions was observed.