Compliance based assessment of stress intensity factor in cracked hollow cylinders with finite boundary restraint: Application to thermal shock part I

The evaluation of mode I stress intensity factor KITS associated with the creep-free thermal shock (TS) of finite length elastically/thermo-elastically restrained cracked hollow cylinders is a problem of interest. Among existing evaluation methodologies, the mechanical weight function approach is often perceived to be an optimal compromise between simplicity and accuracy for KITS and more generalised KI evaluation. However, to confidently apply a mechanical weight function methodology in such circumstances requires the derivation of different weight functions for each potential boundary restraint configuration, i.e. free, flexible or rigid boundary conditions. In this article, the traditional mechanical weight function philosophy is complimented with an elastic compliance analysis, enabling the mechanical weight function and geometry factors for an equivalent semi-infinite cracked hollow cylinder to be used to evaluate KITS associated with a wide range of finite length elastically/thermo-elastically restrained cracked hollow cylinders. The need for deriving different weight functions is therefore removed and the proposed Compliance Adjusted Weight Function (CAWF) approach becomes more ‘user-friendly’. The targeted cracked hollow cylinders are assumed to exhibit an exterior circumferential edge crack or an exterior circumferential semi-elliptical surface crack.