NUMERICAL-ANALYSIS OF EDGE SINGULARITIES IN 3-DIMENSIONAL ELASTICITY

A numerical method is described for the computation of eigenpairs whic h characterize the exact solution of linear elastostatic problems in t hree-dimensions in the vicinity of edge singularities. These may be ca used by re-entrant corners, abrupt changes in boundary conditions or m aterial properties. Such singularities are of great interest from the point of view of failure initiation: The eigenpairs characterize the s training modes and their amplitudes quantify the amount of energy resi ding in particular straining modes. For this reason, failure theories directly or indirectly involve the eigenpairs and their amplitudes. Th is paper addresses the problem of determining the edge eigenpairs nume rically on the basis of the modified Steklov formulation (presented in Reference 1 in a 2-D framework) in conjunction with the p-version of the finite element method. Numerical results are presented for several cases including isotropic as well as anisotropic multi-material inter faces. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.