ABSTRACT
The basic practical problem facing a designer is to make a decision as to the
method for determining stress intensities. It is not easy to strike a balance
between the accuracy of the method, time required to get a solution, and cost.
Numerous equations for stress intensity factors are available in the litera-
ture.[1 – 4] These factors represent various geometries and loading conditions of
fundamental importance in the prediction of structural failure of cracked bodies.
In all there are probably more than 600 formulas for calculating K values for
different crack configurations, body geometries, and loading situations. However,
it appears that the bulk of fracture mechanics work to date has been limited to a
single-mode loading largely because little is known about mixed-mode phenom-
ena.[5] For this and other practical reasons, this chapter is restricted to pure Mode
I (tensile) loading and plane-strain behavior.
