On the inclined crack problem in an orthotropic medium under biaxial loading

The problem of an inclined crack in an orthotropic medium under biaxial loading is analyzed. A suitable coordinate transformation is introduced and two decoupled systems of the Cauchy–Riemann type are obtained in terms of complex potentials. The crack problem is solved by using the method of analytic continuation and closed form expressions of the near tip stress and displacement fields are derived. The influence of load biaxiality on the stress intensity factors, as well as on the local stress components is studied and graphically represented. Moreover, the action of material orthotropy on various quantities describing the crack characteristic is pointed out.