Numerical analysis of mixed mode (I/II) stress intensity factors of single edge cracked/notched plates under different boundary conditions using strain energy approach

Abstract The stress intensity factor is a conventional parameter in Fracture Mechanics and there are some analytical solutions for many different fracture cases. This paper presents the mixed mode I/II stress intensity factors (SIF) of slanted cracks/notches under tension loading. A two-dimensional finite element analysis was employed using ABAQUS finite element program. Various crack lengths and angles were analysed. The effect of the different boundary conditions applied at the plate edge was also examined. Based on the literature survey, there is a lack of solution of SIFs of slanted cracks in plane stress plates. The strain energy approach (SEA) was adopted to analyse the notched cases since finite element software are not capable of computing the notched SIFs directly. By obtaining the strain energy in the FEA results, mode I and II SIFs can be calculated simply by using the SEA method. Moreover, the accuracy of this approach has been validated and compared with the available published results and shows an excellent agreement. The key contribution of the present paper is to evaluate the effect of the crack/notch length to plate width ratio on the mode I and II SIFs of a slant-edge-cracked/notched plate under different boundary conditions, i.e. pinned boundary condition and clamped boundary condition. Crack/notch length to plate width ratios from 0.1 to 0.9, slant angle from 0º to 45º, notch initial angle from 0º to 45º were considered. Series of new data of mode I and II SIFs are provided herein.