DYNAMICALLY LOADED BRANCHED AND INTERSECTING CRACKS

The boundary element method (BEM) is applied to analysis of statically and dynamically loaded plates with branched and intersecting cracks. The numerical solution is obtained by discretization of external boundaries and crack surfaces using quadratic three-node boundary elements. The problem of coincident crack boundaries is solved by the dual BEM in which for nodes on crack surfaces simultaneously the displacement and the traction boundary integral equations are applied. The dynamic problem is solved by using the Laplace transform method and the solution in the time domain is computed by the Durbin numerical inversion method. The Laplace transform method gives very stable and accurate results and requires small computer memory. Static stress intensity factors (SIF) are computed by the path independent J-integral and dynamic SIF by the crack opening displacement (COD) method. Numerical examples of a branched crack in a rectangular plate and a star-shaped crack in a square plate are presented. Static SIF are compared with available results presented in literature showing good agreement. The maximum dynamic SIF are approximately two times larger than the corresponding static SIF. The influences of angles between branches of the crack and dimensions of the plate for the star-shaped crack on dynamic SIF are analyzed.

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