Perturbation method for the solution of a Zener-Stroh crack with a slightly curved configuration

This paper investigates the Zener-Stroh crack with curved configuration in plane elasticity. A singular integral equation is suggested to solve the problem. Formulae for evaluating the SIFs and T-stress at the crack tip are suggested. If the curve configuration is a product of a small parameter and a quadratic function, a perturbation method based on the singular integral equation is suggested. In the method, the singular integral equation can be expanded into a series with respect to the small parameter. Therefore, many singular integral equations can be separated from the same power order for the small parameter. These singular integral equations can be solved successively. The solution of the successive singular integral equations will provide results for stress intensity factors and T-stress at the crack tip. It is found that the behaviors for the solution of SIFs and T-stress in the Zener-Stroh crack and the Griffith crack are quite different. This can be seen from the presented comparison results.