APPLICATIONS OF THE BOUNDARY-ELEMENT AND DISLOCATION DENSITY METHODS IN PLANE CRACK PROBLEMS

Crack modelling using the dislocation density method has become an inc reasingly popular technique for plane crack problems and allows the fa st, efficient determination of stress intensity factors. The range of geometries which may be solved by the basic technique is, however, som ewhat limited and this paper outlines a hybrid formulation combining t he dislocation density technique with constant displacement discontinu ity boundary elements to satisfy a range of far boundary conditions. T he method described can analyse configurations with an arbitrary numbe r of buried or surface breaking cracks and can be implemented on a per sonal computer to provide an efficient tool for crack analysis.