In the last two decades, multiple cracks are often found in aging aerospace and mechanical structures. The interaction and coalescence of multiple cracks may significantly affect the service lives of these aging structures. Knowledge of the behavior of interacting cracks is still limited. The calculation of the crack-tip stress intensity factor, SIF, along the interacting crack fronts is considered a major contribution for the application of any linear fracture mechanics model to investigate the growth life of these cracks. In this paper, a parametric study is presented for two parallel surface cracks in an infinite plate subjected to remote tension or to pure bending loads. This study focuses on constructing a finite element (FE) model that combines the submodeling technique with its ability to generate crack submodels of different lengths and depths, and a mesh generator that can build up a mesh grid based on the size, depth, and orientation of the interacting crack sub-models. The stress intensity factors for these cracks are calculated as a function of the crack front position, depth, shape, and plate thickness. In this paper, the values of the studied crack depth to length ratio, a/c, are 0.33, 0.5, 0.67, and 1.0. Where possible, a comparison of the 3-D with 2-D results is also considered.
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Investigating the Effect of Crack Shape on the Interaction Behavior of Noncoplanar Surface Cracks Using Finite Element Analysis
Walied A. Moussa, Mem. ASME,
Walied A. Moussa, Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada K1S 5B6
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R. Bell, Mem. ASME,
R. Bell, Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada K1S 5B6
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C. L. Tan, Mem. ASME
C. L. Tan, Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada K1S 5B6
Search for other works by this author on:
Walied A. Moussa, Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada K1S 5B6
R. Bell, Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada K1S 5B6
C. L. Tan, Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada K1S 5B6
Contributed by the Pressure Vessels and Piping Division and presented at the Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference, Seattle, Washington, July 23–27, 2000, of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS. Manuscript received by the PVP Division, August 3, 2000; revised manuscript received August 31, 2001. Associate Editor: S. Rahman.
J. Pressure Vessel Technol. May 2002, 124(2): 234-238 (5 pages)
Published Online: May 1, 2002
Article history
Received:
August 3, 2000
Revised:
August 31, 2001
Online:
May 1, 2002
Citation
Moussa, W. A., Bell, R., and Tan, C. L. (May 1, 2002). "Investigating the Effect of Crack Shape on the Interaction Behavior of Noncoplanar Surface Cracks Using Finite Element Analysis ." ASME. J. Pressure Vessel Technol. May 2002; 124(2): 234–238. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1427690
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