Model for contact of crack boundaries in a bending plate

Closed cracks in a bending plate are studied in a two-dimensional formulation based on the Kirchhoff theory and the theory of the two-dimensional stressed state. A generalization of the end contact model is discussed which makes it possible formulate a geometrically linear contact bending problem for a plate with a rectilinear cut including the interaction of symmetric and antisymmetric deformation modes. A procedure for reducing the problem to a system of singular integral equations is described. An example of the calculations is given. © 2001 Plenum Publishing Corporation.