Stress-Intensity Factor for a Three-Dimensional Rectangular Crack

Abstract

An integral transform solution is developed to reduce the problem of determining the stress-intensity factor of a narrow three-dimensional rectangular crack to the solution of a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. The crack is assumed to be embedded in an infinite elastic solid subjected to normal loading. Numerical results are presented to indicate a reduction in the value of the stress-intensity factor from the plane strain case. For an elongated rectangular crack the plane-strain stress-intensity factor is recovered.