On the stress intensity factor for the elliptical crack

Stress intensity factor (SIF) for the elliptical crack under polynomial (un iform, as a special case) loading was first given by Kassir and Sih (1975). However, their expressions contain an error, corrected by Fabrikant (1987) . This correction appears to have gone largely unnoticed, and some authors still use the incorrect result. We demonstrate, on the limiting case of a very elongated crack, that the co rrect expression is indeed the one of Fabrikant. This is hoped to resolve t he controversy. It is also pointed out how to correct other results of Kass ir and Sih for various loadings.