Closed-form thermal stress intensity factors for an internal circumferential crack in a thick-walled cylinder

In this paper the method of weight functions is employed to calculate the stress intensity factors for an internal circumferential crack in a thick-walled cylinder. The pressurized cylinder is also subjected to convection cooling on the inner surface. Finite element method is used to determine an accurate weight function for the crack and a closed-form thermal stress intensity factor with the aid of the weight function method is extracted. The influence of crack parameter and the heat transfer coefficient on the stress intensity factors are determined. Comparison of the results in the special cases with those cited in the literature and the finite element data shows that the results are in very good agreement.