Stress Intensity Factor for the Cracked Plate Reinforce with a Plate by Seam Welding

The stress intensity factor has been calculated theoretically for the cracked plate subjected to remote normal stress and reinforced with a plate by symmetric seam welding. The singular integral equation was derived based on displacement compatibility condition between the cracked plate and the reinforcement plate, and solved by means of Erdogan and Gupta's method. The results from the derived equation for stress intensity factor were compared with FEM solutions and seems to be reasonable. The reinforcement effect gets better as welding line is closer to the crack and the stiffness ratio of the cracked plate and the reinforcement plate becomes larger.