Investigation of the interaction of rectangular cracks by new numerical simulation methods.

Various celestial bodies contain cracks. Also, cracks can be in the skin of aircraft, while their growth is one of the main mechanisms for the breakup of structures. This paper presents a study of one and two rectangular cracks. The influence coefficient (the ratio of the stress intensity factors for the fracture system to the corresponding value for a single crack of the same size) was chosen as the quantity under investigation. The final shape of the crack in the case of its growth is also studied. The following methods were used to model this process: the three-dimensional boundary elements method of discontinuous displacements, in which stress and displacement field is a finite series of expansions of analytically found functions, as well as the two-dimensional boundary elements method of discontinuous displacements, which takes into account the twisting of a growing crack along the stress field at the tip. • Single rectangular crack and system of two parallel cracks were investigated. • For rectangular crack growth is likely to happen from the centers of the sides. • The danger of two parallel cracks depends significantly on their relative position. • Pair of uniaxial cracks is less dangerous then a single crack of the same size. • Non-overlapping cracks in close planes are the most dangerous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]