Closed-form stress intensity factor solutions for surface cracks with large aspect ratios in plates

Azuma, Kisaburo*; Li, Y. ; Xu, S.*

Alloy 82/182/600, which is used in light-water reactors, is known to be susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking. The depth of some of these cracks may exceed the value of half-length on the surface. Although the stress intensity factor (SIF) for cracks plays an important role in predicting crack propagation and failure, Section XI of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code does not provide SIF solutions for such deep cracks. In this study, closed-form SIF solutions for deep surface cracks in plates are discussed using an influence coefficient approach. The stress distribution at the crack location is represented by a fourth-degree-polynomial equation. Tables for influence coefficients obtained by finite element analysis in the previous studies are used for curve fitting. The closed-form solutions for the influence coefficients were developed at the surface point, the deepest point, and the maximum point of a crack with an aspect ratio a/c ranging from 1.0 to 8.0, where a is the crack depth and c is one-half of the crack length. The maximum point of a crack refers to the location on the crack front where the SIF reaches a maximum value.