THE EFFECTS OF ANISOTROPY ON THE NONLINEAR BEHAVIOR OF BRIDGED CRACKSIN LONG STRIPS

THIS PAPER PRESENTS a model which can be used to predict the two-dimen sional nonlinear behavior of bridged cracks in orthotropic strips. The results obtained using a singular integral equation formulation which incorporates the anisotropy rigorously show that, although the effect s of anisotropy are significant, the nondimensional quantities employe d by Cox and Marshall (Acta Metall. 39, 579-589, 1991) can generate ne arly universal results (R-curves, for example) for different levels of relative anisotropy. The role of composite constituent properties in the behavior of bridged cracks is clarified in this paper.