Weight function for an external circumferential semielliptical crack in a cylinder.

In this paper, the weight function was extracted at the deepest point of a semielliptical circumferential crack. The crack is assumed to exist on the outer surface of the cylinder. For this purpose, the three‐dimensional finite element method was accomplished to specify two reference loads, which are indispensable for determining the weight function. The verification study confirms the accuracy of the derived weight function under prescribed mechanical loading on the crack surfaces. There is consistency among the solution results compared with those in the literature. The second part describes the application of the weight function for the thermal boundary conditions. Steady‐state thermal stress intensity factors are demonstrated using the weight function and presented as a closed‐form solution. The results were compared with the finite element data on the special case of thermal loading, and good agreement is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]