Analysis for a crack emanating from a corner of a square hole in an infinite plate using the hybrid displacement discontinuity method

This study concerns with a crack emanating from a corner of a square hole in an infinite plate subjected to internal pressure by means of a boundary element method which consists of the constant displacement discontinuity element presented by Crouch and Starfied and the crack tip displacement discontinuity elements proposed by the author. In the boundary element implementation the left or the right crack tip displacement discontinuity element is placed locally at corresponding left or right crack tip on top of the constant displacement discontinuity elements that cover the entire crack surface and other boundaries. Test examples are included to show that the numerical approach is very efficient and accurate for stress intensity factor calculation of plane complex crack problems in both infinite and finite domains. Specifically, the numerical results of stress intensity factors of a crack emanating from a corner of a square hole in an infinite plate subjected to internal pressure are given. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.