Closure of a through crack in a plate under bending

A plate with a pre-existent through crack is considered under the action of a remote bending moment and a remote in-plane force. The problem statement is reduced to the solution of two coupled integral equations with strongly singular kernels. The independent variables in the latter equations are the closure displacement and rotation angle. The corresponding closure force and moment distributions, and the contact-crack opening boundary (the closure perimeter), are found as functions of the remote bending-compression ratio. The validity of previously stated analytical asymptotics for the contact boundary is examined. The dependence of the extent of closure on the crack length-to-thickness ratio is studied. Comparisons are made with experimental results. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.