Stress intensity factors for cracked T-sections and dynamic behaviour of T-beams

This paper presents an extension of a simple and convenient method proposed by Kienzler and Herrmann [An elementary theory of defective beams. Acta Mech 1986;62:37–46] to estimate the stress intensity factors of cracked beams and bars. This method is based on an elementary beam theory estimation of the strain energy release as the crack is widened into a fracture band. As an extension, the power of the simple beam theory analysis is demonstrated by application to cracked T-beams subjected to a bending moment, shear forces and a torsion. Moreover, the present work addresses the coupled bending-torsional vibration of cracked T-beams within the context of the dynamic stiffness matrix method of analysing structures.