INTERACTIONS OF 2 COPLANAR ELLIPTIC CRACKS EMBEDDED IN FINITE THICKNESS PLATES UNDER UNIFORM TENSION

This paper includes the analysis of the interactions of two coplanar e lliptical cracks, with equal or different crack sizes, embedded in fin ite thickness plates under uniform tension. The ratios of crack depth to crack length (b(1)/a(1) and b(2)/a(2)) are 0.25 and 1.0; the relati ve distances between two cracks (s(1)/b(min) and s(2)/b(min)) range fr om 0.5 to 2.0. Two kinds of interactions, interactions 1 and 2, with a total of 42 crack configurations, are studied and the stress intensit y factors along the crack front are presented. The numerical results s how that interaction 2 has a stronger interaction than interaction 1. The numerical analyses are carried out by the hybrid boundary element method.