Interactions of two collinear circular hole cracks subjected to internal pressure

By using a hybrid displacement discontinuity method, the interactions of two collinear circular hole cracks in infinite plate subjected to internal pressure are investigated in this paper. Numerical examples are included to illustrate that the numerical approach is very simple and effective for calculating the stress intensity factors (SIFs) of crack problems. In particular, the interaction problem of two collinear circular hole cracks is investigated in detail. Many numerical results are given and discussed. It is found that a circular hole has a shielding effect on the SIFs of crack(s) emanating from the hole. The finding perhaps has an important meaning in engineering.