Stress Intensity Factors for Elliptical and Semi-Elliptical cracks: Mode I loading

In this work, the exact analytical stress intensity factor has been obtained for an elliptical crack embedded in an infinite elastic body and subjected to an arbitrary applied normal stress field (Mode I), including the special case of an applied concentrated force, i.e. the weight function (Green's function) for an elliptical crack. The weight function enables the determination of the stress intensity factor for an elliptical crack, induced by an arbitrary applied normal stress field, by integrating the product of the weight function and the applied stress field over the crack domain, i.e. without solving the entire problem for different boundary conditions. The weight function was subsequently employed into the alternating method to obtain the unique stress intensity factor for a surface breaking semi- elliptical crack in a semi-infinite body subjected to an arbitrary applied stress field. The results of this research can be used in various practical applications, such as cracks in pressure vessels, welded structures and mechanical components subjected to cyclic loading.