A NOTE ON THE LINE SPRING SOLUTION FOR A PART-THROUGH CRACK

The line spring solutions used to solve part-through crack problems in plates are investigated by comparing with the results obtained from a n accurate three-dimensional analysis using the body force method. Com parisons are made for the mode I stress intensity of a semi-elliptical crack with various aspect ratios a/b, i.e. the ratio of the width to the depth of the crack. The results indicate that the two methods agre e well for cracks that are wider than they are deep (an aspect ratio g reater than one).