Influence of crack offset distance on interaction of multiple collinear and offset edge cracks in a rectangular plate

In the present work, photoelastic and finite element method have been employed to study the interaction between two collinear cracks and two offset edge cracks. CY 230 resin and hardener HY 951 are used for preparation of photoelastic material. Mode I and mode II stress intensity factors were determined by using finite element method and compared with the experimental results. A good agreement is found between the numerical and experimental results. Second degree polynomial functions are presented to evaluate the mixed mode stress intensity factors from mode I stress intensity factor and crack offset distance H. The limits of crack offset distance for significant crack interaction have been discussed.