INFLUENCE OF CRACK CLOSURE ON THE STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR FOR CYLINDRICAL SHELLS SUBJECTED TO BENDING.

Cylindrical shell with axial through crack and subjected to moment load is analyzed taking into account the closure of the crack faces on the c ompression side. A three-dimensional finite element method employing degenerate quarter-point brick elements to model the crack tip region is used for the analysis. The crack faces are modelled such that they come in contact over an area on the compression side and interact with each other. The influence of the crack closure on the variation of stress intensity factor along the crack front is determined.