EIGENSTRAIN METHODS IN 3-DIMENSIONAL CRACK PROBLEMS - AN ALTERNATIVE INTEGRATION PROCEDURE

IN THIS PAPER three-dimensional crack problems are analysed using the eigenstrain method (body force method). The formulation leads to a set of hyper-singular integral equations which is solved numerically usin g a discretization technique. An analytical expression is derived for the evaluation of the singular integrals, i.e. the two-dimensional sin gular integrals are reduced to regular integrals along the contour of the domain, thus avoiding the direct calculation of cumbersome singula r integrals and minimizing the numerical effort. The analytical expres sion is independent of the size and shape of the domain, allowing the use of high order elements in numerical solutions. Some well-known pro blems have been re-evaluated to test the method.