Tension of a finite-thickness plate with a pair of semi-elliptical surface cracks

Abstract This paper deals with the tension of a finite-thickness plate with a pair of semi-elliptical cracks on both of the free surfaces. The analysis is performed in a similar manner to the previous single crack problem, by using the body force method and the boundary conditions expressed in terms of resultant forces and displacements of the boundary elements. The stress intensity factor at the maximum depth of the crack front is calculated for various values of the parameters and these results are fitted by a reliable polynomial formula for convenience of engineering applications.