Transient stress intensity factors for periodic array of cracks in a half-plane due to convective cooling

The problem of periodic cracks perpendicular to the boundary of a half-plane under transient thermal loading is investigated. The thermal stresses are generated as a result of convective cooling on the boundary of the plane. The problem is solved using the superposition technique. The perturbation problem is formulated using the thermal stresses obtained from the uncracked problem with the opposite sign as the only external load. The formulation results in a singular integral equation of Cauchy type that is solved numerically. Numerical results are obtained for the stress intensity factors as a function of time, crack length, location of the crack, and periodic crack spacing.