Displacement discontinuity formulation for modeling cracks in orthotropic shear deformable plates

Adisplacement discontinuity formulation is presented for modeling cracks in orthotropic Reisnner plates. Fundamental solutions for displacement discontinuity are derived for the first time using a Fourier transform method. Boundary integral equations are presented in terms of discontinuity rotations on the crack surfaces for opening mode problems. As the fundamental solutions have singularity of O (1/r2), Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind are used to evaluate the integral equations.By solving for coefficients of the Chebyshev polynomials, the stress intensity factors at the crack tips are obtained directly. Comparisons are made with solutions using the finite element method to demonstrate that the displacement discontinuity method is an efficient and accurate method for solving crack problems in orthotropic Reissner plat