SEDL / STP / STP1321-EB / STP12335S

K3D — A Program for Determining Stress Intensity Factors of Surface and Corner Cracks from a Hole

Zhao, W
Adjunct Professor and Professor, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

Sutton, MA
Adjunct Professor and Professor, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

Newman, JC
Senior Scientist, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA

Pages: 15    Published: Jan 1997

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Abstract

K3D is a computer program for determining stress intensity factors of semi-elliptical surface cracks and quarter-elliptical corner cracks emanating from a hole in a wide plate. The loading conditions considered fall into two categories: (a) pre-defined loads, which include biaxial loading with arbitrary biaxial load ratio, remote tension, remote bending (corner cracks only), and wedge loading in the hole and (b) user-defined loads, which allow users to analyze any loading conditions of interest, provided that the pertinent uncracked stress distributions can be fitted to a given functional form. K3D uses an accurate and efficient PC-based weight function algorithm, which requires no pre- or post-processing. The efficiency of the algorithm makes it possible to get a solution in a few seconds on computers equipped with an 80486 microprocessor. The program is described in some detail, following a brief introduction of the theoretical background. An example is given to illustrate its use.