STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS FOR CRACKS EMANATING FROM PRESSURIZED SEMICIRCULAR CYLINDRICAL CAVITIES

Mode I stress intensity factors are given for the case of a crack emanating from the base of a semi-circular cylindrical cavity on one surface of a finite block. The cavity is under a uniform pressure and the block is restrained by a normal pressure on the surface of the block opposite to the cracked cavity. The solution was obtained by the modified mapping collocation technique. In addition to the stress intensity factor results, a comprehensive collocation accuracy control method is presented which utilizes computer graphics to provide added insight into the nature of the complex stress functions that represent the stress field solution. The geometries and loadings given provide a range of data potentially useful in the tool and die industry with particular application for metal forming and swaging dies.