A Method for the Assessment of the Serviceability and Fracture Hazard for Structural Elements with Cracklike Defects

We propose a method for the assessment of strength and fracture hazard of defective structural elements based on the parameter of “crack-growth resistance structural elements,” which characterizes the rate of change in the stress intensity factor near the crack tip in the course of crack propagation in this structural element. We present examples of evaluation of the serviceability and durability of typical structural elements with cracklike defects of different shapes and locations under the action of quasistatic and cyclic loads.