A non-singular boundary integral formula for determining the T-stress for cracks of arbitrary geometry

A simple, yet accurate 2-D boundary integral equation (BIE) for determining the T-stress for cracks of arbitrarily geometry is introduced in this paper. The formulation is based upon the asymptotic expansion for the stress field in the vicinity of a crack tip. It can be conveniently implemented in the post-processing stage of a boundary element fracture analysis. As demonstrated in this work, the proposed BIE is non-singular, and thus it can directly be collocated at the crack tip under consideration. The technique requires a similar computational effort as that used in calculating the stress components at an interior point of a domain. Consequently, this new approach is very computationally effective and accurate for evaluating the elastic T-stress. Five test examples, involving straight, kink and curved cracks, are studied to validate the proposed technique and to assess its accuracy.