On the asymptotic crack-tip stress fields in nonlocal orthotropic elasticity

The crack-tip stress fields in orthotropic bodies are derived within the framework of Eringen's nonlocal elasticity via the Green's function method. The modified Bessel function of second kind and order zero is considered as the nonlocal kernel. We demonstrate that if the localisation residuals are neglected, as originally proposed by Eringen, the asymptotic stress tensor and its normal derivative are continuous across the crack. We prove that the stresses attained at the crack tip are finite in nonlocal orthotropic continua for all the three fracture modes (I, II and III). The relative magnitudes of the stress components depend on the material orthotropy. Moreover, non-zero self-balanced tractions exist on the crack edges for both isotropic and orthotropic continua. The special case of a mode I Griffith crack in a nonlocal and orthotropic material is studied, with the inclusion of the T-stress term. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.