2 CIRCULAR-ARC CRACKS IN AN INFINITE ELASTIC PLATE

The plane problem of two circular-arc cracks placed along the circumference of a circle in an infinite elastic plate is studied theoretically. The plate is subjected to a system of biaxial stresses at infinity or to a constant pressure along the crack faces. Based on the theory of complex potentials the problem is reduced to a Hilbert problem for a sectionally holomorphic function and it is solved in closed form. Emphasis is placed on the local stress distribution around the tips of the cracks and the stress field is expressed in terms of the opening-mode, K1, and sliding-mode, K2, stress intensity factors. Numerical results for K1 and K2 for various geometrical configurations of the cracks are given in graphical form.