Partial closure of a crack located in an anisotropic infinite elastic layer

In this paper, a partially closed crack problem in an anisotropic infinite elastic layer loaded by a transverse pair of compressive concentrated forces P and a pair of uniform tensile stress p 0 along the crack surface is considered. Friction and gravity forces are neglected. The partial closure problem is solved by assuming that the stress-intensity factor vanishes at the end point of the closure portion. The problem is formulated in terms of a singular integral equation for the derivative of the crack surface displacement. Numerical results related to the effect of material anisotropy on the stress-intensity factor k ( c ) , the closure length a and the load factor Q are presented in graphical and tabular form.