An integral equation method and its application to defect mechanics (Q1081329)

Combining the body force method with the complex stress function theory, a complex integral equation method is presented to study interaction problems between holes and other defects in an infinite or semiinfinite elastic plane. A closed form solution of the integral equation is obtained for the generalized Kirsch problem in terms of the Laurent series expansion technique. This solution leads to a very simple formula to calculate the distribution of hoop stresses at the boundary of a circular hole in a plane subjected to arbitrary loads. To show the application of the integral equation method, three specific problems are treated analyticaly and/or numerically. Investigation of the asymptotic behaviour of stress distribution in neighbouring defects is of special interest. It was found that the hole to hole and hole to boundary interaction are governed by a 1/\(\sqrt{\epsilon}\) singularity, where \(\epsilon\) stands for a non-dimensional distance between the holes and the hole or the boundary, respectively.