General post processing program for J-integral calculation around arbitrary shaped cracks

In this paper, a general post processing program for J-integral calculation is developed to apply to arbitrary shaped cracks in a three dimensional body. Usually J-integral calculation programs are options for specific stress analysis programs and they are not applicable to results from different analysis programs. In most cases, there are many limitations in analysis models or shapes of cracks. This situation is not favorable for users. This paper will demonstrate a development of a post-processing program to calculate J-integral for arbitrary shaped cracks in a three dimensional body. This program requires only discrete data of displacements and stresses at nodal or numerical integration points. Users can use their own programs for stress analyses and calculate J-integral after that. In this paper, errors in approximation will be discussed as the first stage of the development.