Book Description
An infinite elastic solid containing a doubly-periodic rectangular array of slit-like cracks is considered. The solid is subjected to a uniform stress resulting in a state of plane strain. The cracks are represented as suitable distributions of dislocations which are determined from a singular integral equation. This equation is solved numerically in an efficient manner using an expansion of the nonsingular part of the kernel in a series of Chebyshev polynomials. Values of the stress intensity factors are presented, as well as the change in strain energy due to the presence of the cracks. Also, the effective elastic constants of a sheet having a rectangular array of cracks are given as functions of the crack spacing. (Author).