Thermal stress intensity factors in composite plates with cracks arising from a circular hole

In the present study, a novel analytical solution is introduced for the determination of thermal Stress Intensity Factors (SIFs) for a composite plate containing a cracked circular hole subjected to a uniform heat flux. Therefore, an analytical approach, based on the Complex Variable Method (CVM), is provided for the first time, employing the Schwartz integration method. To facilitate the solution of complex integrals using Schwartz's theorem, a novel representation of mapping function is offered, providing a more straightforward solution. Thermal SIFs are calculated for circular holes containing one or two cracks. Also, the influence of factors like fiber orientation and dissimilar crack lengths is investigated. To verify the accuracy of outcomes derived from the current analytical solution, a comparison with results obtained through the Finite Element Method (FEM) is conducted. The comparative analysis highlights the robust accuracy of the present solution. In scenarios where fibers align with the crack length and the heat flux acts perpendicular to the crack direction, the Mode-I of SIF becomes neglected. However, when the fibers do not align with crack length, the Mode-I SIF deviates from zero. Furthermore, an increase in the length of one crack is observed to augment the SIF of another crack.