Strip yield analysis of two collinear unequal cracks in an infinite sheet

Plastic zone sizes and crack tip opening displacements (CTODs) are obtained for two collinear cracks in an infinite sheet subjected to known remote stress. Analysis is conducted by assuming the crack accompanying plastic zones as a fictitious crack and formulating integral equations based upon traction free and no stress singularity conditions. In addition, critical remote stress, plastic zone sizes, and CTODs when the adjacent plastic zones touched are obtained by assuming the coalesced fictitious cracks as a single fictitious crack and formulating integral equations based upon no stress singularity and zero coalesced point displacement conditions. Extensive numerical results are presented.