ABSTRACT
Only a small number of problems having simple crack geometries (such as Griffith cracks, circular cracks, and elliptical cracks in an unbounded medium) can be solved analytically using the knowledge of the theory of elasticity. Analytical solutions of a few such simple problems are presented in chapter 9. One can use these fundamental solutions and one’s engineering judgment to obtain approximate solutions for a variety of other problem geometries with cracks, as discussed in the previous chapters. However, a large number of problems that still remain unsolved can be solved only numerically. Different numerical techniques that can be used to obtain the stress intensity factors (SIFs) for problem geometries with various loading conditions are discussed in this chapter.
