Applicability of the extended Petroski-Achenbach weight function procedureto graded materials

The weight function procedure simplifies the determination of stress intens ity factors. If the weight function is known for a crack in a component of homogeneous material, the stress intensity factor can be obtained by multip lying this function by the stress distribution and integrating it over the crack length. In the case of graded materials, weight functions are hardly available in the literature. The main point of this investigation is to pro ve whether or not the approximate Petroski-Achenbach method with its extens ions is also valid in the case of graded materials. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.