Acoustic emission from a surface-breaking crack under cyclic loading

An isotropic, homogeneous, elastic half-space is subjected to a uniform stress system composed of a constant tensile stress with a superimposed cyclic tensile stress, both parallel to the free surface. The cyclic stresses are assumed to generate a surface-breaking crack of length l(t) which propagates normal to the surface. The unloading of the crack faces generates acoustic emission, which is primarily composed of surface waves. The elastodynamic reciprocity theorem for time-harmonic waves is used to determine the radiated system of transient and steady state surface waves.