Finite-element analysis of corner cracks in rectangular bars

Stress intensity factors for a wide range of quarter-elliptical corner cracks in rectangular bars are presented. Cracked configurations were subjected to remote tension, in-plane bending, or out-of-plane bending. Results were compared with other numerical results for a quarter-circular corner crack configuration. The present results along the interior of the crack generally agreed within 3 percent with those from the literature. Some larger differences (3 to 13 percent) were observed near the intersection of the crack front and the free surfaces in the boundary layer region. Analyses were performed to study the effect of mesh refinement in the boundary layer region and the influence of Poisson's ratio on the distribution of stress-intensity factors.