Two-dimensional stress intensity factor analysis of cracks in anisotropic bimaterial

Abstract

This paper presents a 2D numerical technique based on the boundary element method (BEM) for the analysis of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) problems on stress intensity factors (SIFs) involving anisotropic bimaterials. The most outstanding feature of this analysis is that it is a singledomain method, yet it is very accurate, efficient, and versatile (i.e., the material properties of the medium can be anisotropic as well as isotropic). A computer program using the BEM formula translation (FORTRAN 90) code was developed to effectively calculate the stress intensity factors (SIFs) in an anisotropic bi-material. This BEM program has been verified and showed good accuracy compared with the previous studies. Numerical examples of stress intensity factor calculation for a straight crack with various locations in both finite and infinite bimaterials are presented. It was found that very accurate results can be obtained using the proposed method, even with relatively simple discretization. The results of the numerical analysis also show that material anisotropy can greatly affect the stress intensity factor. © 2013 Chia-Huei Tu et al.