Modified crack closure method using boundary elements

The boundary element method is a general purpose tool for calculating stresses and displacements in elasticity problems. However, accurate evaluation of singular quantities, such as the stress near a crack tip, requires a large number of conventional boundary elements or special crack tip elements. The crack closure integral is shown to accurately and efficiently calculate two-dimensional stress intensity factors using conventional boundary element data. The robustness of the method is illustrated on the example problems of a crack in a finite plate, a crack emanating from a hole, and a cracked bimaterial interface.