STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS FOR CORNER CRACKS AT A HOLE BY A 3-D WEIGHT FUNCTION-METHOD WITH STRESSES FROM THE FINITE-ELEMENT METHOD

Stress intensity factors for quarter-elliptical corner cracks emanatin g from a circular hole are determined using a 3-D weight function meth od combined with a 3-D finite element method. The 3-D finite element m ethod is used to analyze uncracked configurations and provide stress d istributions in the region where a crack is likely to occur. Using thi s stress distribution as input, the 3-D weight function method is used to determine stress intensity factors. Three different loading condit ions, i.e. remote tension, remote bending and wedge loading, are consi dered for a wide range of geometrical parameters. The significance of using 3-D uncracked stress distributions is studied. Comparisons are m ade with solutions available in the literature.