OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · 1978 · 10 citations · 0 references
EngineeringCivil EngineeringComputational EngineeringComputational MechanicsStructural AnalysisStructural EngineeringCrack AssessmentDamage MechanicsFracture MechanicsStrength Of MaterialsStress AnalysisStructural ReliabilityComputational Fracture MechanicsCrack GrowthCrack Growth AnalysisCrack Growth ModelingCrack Tip Stress FieldElastic LoadingFracture Mechanics SimulationStructural Reliability Assessment
The fracture mechanics approach to structural reliability accepts that some flaws will be present, but that conditions can be established to assure that flaws do not grow to an unacceptable size during the life of the structure. Fracture mechanics life prediction requires calculation of crack tip stress intensity factors to quantify both stable crack growth and the conditions for unstable fracture in complex geometries under complex elastic loading conditions which lead to high stress gradients. The BIGIF computer code has been developed to perform accurately and inexpensively these life predictions for a wide range of two- and three-dimensional stress fields and cracks and structural geometries, given that the elastic stress solution for the uncracked structure is available from another independent source.