Part-Through Flaw Stress Intensity Factors Developed by a Slice Synthesis Technique

Part-through-the-thickness flaws are the most common type of flaw occurring in metal structure. Accurate prediction of their growth is vital to ensure adequate life. The majority of stress intensity factor solutions for these flaws are developed through finite-element analyses, iterative techniques, or less accurate superposition of simple solutions. Recently the authors have developed and extended a slice synthesis technique for computation of stress intensity factors for part-through flaws. This technique is far less expensive than finite-element methods, yet provides excellent accuracy. This paper presents the derivation of the method and recently obtained solutions for surface flaws, corner cracks at holes, and corner cracks at the edge of plates in tension and bending. Simple analytical expressions have been fit to these solutions which can be incorporated into computer routines for crack growth prediction.