Elastic T-stress for cracks in test specimens subjected to non-uniform stress distributions

Finite element analyses have been conducted to calculate elastic T-stress solutions for cracked test specimens. The T-stress solutions are presented for single edge cracked plates, double edge crack plates and centre cracked plates. Uniform, linear, parabolic or cubic stress distributions were applied to the crack face. The results for uniform and linear stress distributions were used to derive weight functions for T-stress for the corresponding specimens. The weight functions for T-stress are then verified against several linear and non-linear stress distributions. The derived weight functions are suitable for the T-stress calculation for cracked specimens under any given stress field. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.