The effect of a quarter-circle corner crack on the distribution of the sif along the front of a non-aligned semi-elliptical surface crack in an infinitely large plate under uniaxial tension

The evaluation of the mutual effect of non-aligned multiple cracks is a prerequisite in applying fitness-for-service codes. For non-aligned parallel cracks, during on-site inspection, one needs to decide whether the cracks should be treated as coalesced or separate multiple cracks for Fitness-for-Service. In the existing literature, criteria and standards for the adjustment of multiple nonaligned cracks are very source dependent, and those criteria and standards are often derived from on-site service experience without rigorous and systematic verification. Based on this observation, the authors previously reported on the influence of an embedded crack on an edge crack in 2-D scenarios and, more recently, in 3-D scenarios of the influence of a surface crack on a quarter-circle corner crack. However, realistic crack configurations detected using non-destructive methods are generally 3-D in nature and their influences are mutual. Thus the SIF distribution characteristics along the surface crack is equally important as the SIF distribution of the corner crack when Fitness-for-Service rules are to be applied. Therefore, non-aligned flaws with different configurations and shapes and the SIFs along their crack fronts are deemed necessary in order to obtain more practical guidance in the usage of rules speculated in Fitness-for-Service codes. In this study, the characteristics of the SIF distribution along a semi-elliptic non-aligned surface crack is examined under the influence of a quarter-circle corner crack of various geometries in an infinitely large plate. For any given geometry of a quarter-circle corner crack, a pair of horizontal (H) and vertical (S) separation distances between the two cracks is chosen followed by a detailed analysis of the effect of the quarter-circle corner crack on the 3D SIFs of the surface crack at different ellipticities. The analysis is repeated for various combinations of separation distances S and H. The results from this study are collectively significant to the understanding of the correlation between the criteria and standards in Fitness-for-Service community and the consequence of their usage in engineering practice.