Stress Intensity Factor at the Hole-Edge Crack Tips in a Finite Plate

In the current research work, the problem of fracture mechanics in a plate with a central hole under tensile loading is studied. The stress intensity factors are calculated for a finite plate containing two symmetrical hole-edge cracks. The problem is solved by two different methods, namely the finite element method and the FRANC software analysis. At first the finite element method is used and by writing a program in MATLAB software the stress intensity factors at the crack tips are calculated. The same problem is then reanalyzed with the Franc software and the results are compared. The effects of various factors such as the hole diameter, crack length and crack angle have been investigated on stress intensity factors. The results show that for small crack lengths, the effect of cracks length is more than that of the hole diameter on variation of normalized stress intensity factors, while it is the opposite for large crack lengths, the effect of hole diameter is more than that of the cracks length on variation of normalized stress intensity factors.