Stress analysis in a wedge weakened by multiple cracks

The solutions of a Volterra type edge dislocation in an isotropic wedge with free–free and fixed–free boundary conditions are accomplished by means of the Mellin transformation. The same technique is employed to carry out stress analysis in a wedge under concentrated normal and shear forces. The dislocation solutions are employed as strain nuclei to derive integral equations for a wedge weakened by multiple cracks. These equations are solved numerically for dislocation density functions on the cracks which are used to determine stress intensity factors. In the special cases of quarter and half planes, the solutions agree well with those available in literature. As a new result, the interaction of an edge- and an embedded-crack with different orientations is investigated.