The effect of a crack-tip radius on the validity of the singular solution

Abstract

The influence of the finite crack-root radius on the local stress field at the root of a crack is found explicitly. This is then applied as an inner asymptotic solution, embedded with the conventional crack-tip singular solution, to quantify the possible influence of local rounding on the ability of the singular solution to capture the characteristics of the crack-tip process zone. The scaling factor employed is the conventional crack-tip stress intensity, and the example of a simple edge crack in a tension field is used to illustrate the method.