Stress intensity factors for slightly kinked, partially closed cracks in compression (Q1083292)

A solution is presented for the elastic stress intensity factors at the tips of a slightly kinked, partially closed crack in compression. The solution is accurate to first order in the deviation of the crack surface from a straight line and is carried out using perturbation procedures analogous to those of \textit{N. V. Banichuk} [Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR Mekh. Tverd. Tela 7, 130 (1970)], \textit{R. V. Goldstein} and \textit{R. L. Salganik} [Int. J. Fracture 10, 507 (1974)] and \textit{B. Cotterell} and \textit{J. R. Rice} [ibid. 16, 155 (1980)] for the problem of an open crack. Comparison with the exact solution indicates that the asymptotic solution is accurate for values of the angle between the straight crack and its out-of-plane kinks up to about 20\(\circ\).