Three-Dimensional Fracture Mechanics Analyses of Single-Edge Cracked Plate Specimens

In this paper, single-edge cracked plate (SECP) specimens are analyzed using three-dimensional finite element analysis under mode I loading conditions. The stress intensity factor K, T₁₁ and T₃₃ stresses along the crack front of the SECP specimens with the crack surface subjected to uniform, linear, parabolic or cubic stress distributions are calculated. The relative crack depth, a/W, is varied by 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 or 0.8. And the relative thickness, t/W, is chosen by 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 or 4.0, respectively. For engineering applications, empirical equations of normalized stress intensity factor K, T₁₁ and T₃₃ stress at the mid-plane are also obtained. By superposition, the results enable the calculations of these fracture mechanics parameters under the loading conditions of tension, bending and nonlinear stress distributions.