Two-dimensional fractal-like finite element method for thermoelastic crack analysis

The fractal-like finite element method has been proved to be very efficient and accurate in two-dimensional static and dynamic crack problems. In this paper, we extend our previous study to include the thermal effect for two-dimensional isotropic thermal crack problems. Both the temperature intensity factor and thermal stress intensity factor can be calculated directly. The temperature distribution is first found, which is imposed thereafter as a thermal load in the elastic problem. The transformation function used in the study has been found analytically. The effects of different thermal loading on the thermal stress intensity factor are presented. The numerical examples are compared with the results from other methods and find to be in good agreement. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.