The stress field near the front of an arbitrarily shaped crack in a three-dimensional elastic body (Q1205206)

The title problem is considered with emphasis on the first three terms of the stress expansion proportional to \(r^{-1/2}\), \(r^ 0\), and \(r^{1/2}\), respectively, where \(r\) denotes the distance from the crack front. A plane crack, with a straight front and the stresses independent of the distance along the front, is studied in detail. The general case is then discussed using a system of curvilinear coordinates.