Crack Paths 2009

d/T=0.4

2.5

FEA:a1/T=0.05

2

FEA:a1/T=0.30

FEA:a1/T=0.45

Ref.[5]: a1/T=0.05

1.5

Ref.[5]: a1/T=0.30

Ref.[5]: a1/T=0.45

1

Ref.[6]: Single crack

0.5

0 0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Normalisedcrack 2 length, a2/T

Fig. 2. Comparison of FE results with Reference 5.

STRESSDISTRIBUTIOANL O NTGH EP O T E N T I ACLR A CLKINE

FE modelling was also used to study non-uniform stress distribution along the potential

crack line. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between the

crack-line stresses and the interaction effect between cracks. Only stress in the

longitudinal direction was measured as the SIF solutions evaluated in this work are for

crack opening mode(mode I) only.

4.5 4.5

a1/T=0.40

d/T=0.08

4.0

3.5

d/T=0.12

3.0

d/T=0.16

d/T=0.20

2.5

d/T=0.23

2.0

d/T=0.31

1.050505

d/T=0.43

d/T=0.51

d/T=0.62

0.5

d/T=0.70

d/T=0.82

0.0

d/T=0.89

-0.5

d/T=1.01

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

Normalisedpotential crack2 length, x/T

Fig. 3. Results of stress distributions along x/T with a1/T = 0.40.

A succession of models containing varying crack 1 lengths was generated using

the mesh generator program. For each fixed value of crack 1, the y-component of stress,

σ2(x) was measured along the potential crack 2 plane, x at crack separation d. Stress

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