Simplified stress field determination for an inclined crack and interaction between two cracks under tension

Abstract

Multiple initiated cracks are frequently occurred on structural components, and they have significant effects on fatigue life due to interaction between several cracks. The objective of the present study was to investigate the inclination of a crack and the interaction effect between two cracks. By analyzing the stress distribution around a single crack and various results from the available literature on the stress intensity factors of the interaction between two cracks, an estimation method was introduced to evaluate the inclination effect and the crack interaction between two cracks in a variety of positions subjected to tension loads under Mode I loading conditions. The effect of cracks length and cracks distance on stress distribution was examined. The study results showed that crack interaction obtained by proposed method was in good agreement with previous findings from the stress intensity factor handbook. Finally, an approximate procedure for estimating the crack interaction in an arbitrary position for two- and three-dimensional cases was proposed.