Solution of axisymmetric crack problems using distributed dislocation ringdipoles

A solution procedure for the calculation of crack tip stress intensity fact ors arising at the edges of an arbitrarily shaped crack lying on a surface of revolution is described. The cracks are subject to an arbitrary axisymme tric stress field, devoid of torsion, and may be present in either an infin ite space or two elastically dissimilar bonded half-spaces, of which one ma y, as a special case, have vanishing elastic constants. The technique emplo yed is a one-dimensional integral equation approach, in which the kernel is formed from rings of dislocation pairs, arranged to form ring 'dipoles'. T he equation is hypersingular but may readily be inverted using powerful num erical quadratures, providing a computationally efficient solution. Example s of the use of the technique are then described.