• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.629-635
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• 2010

An SGBEM (symmetric Galerkin boundary element method)-FEM alternating method has been proposed by Nikishkov, Park and Atluri. This method can be used to obtain mixed-mode stress intensity factors for planar and nonplanar three-dimensional cracks having an arbitrary shape. For field applications, however, it is necessary to verify the accuracy and consistency of this method. Therefore, in this study, we investigate the effects of several factors on the accuracy of the stress intensity factors obtained using the abovementioned alternating method. The obtained stress intensity factors are compared with the known values provided in handbooks, especially in the case of internal and external circumferential semi-elliptical surface cracks. The results show that the SGBEM-FEM alternating method yields accurate stress intensity factors for three-dimensional cracks, including internal and external circumferential surface cracks and that the method can be used as a robust crack analysis tool for solving field problems.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.639-652
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• 2005

In this paper, a full-scale K-joint specimen was tested to failure under cyclic combined axial and in-plane bending loads. In the fatigue test, the crack developments were monitored step by step using the alternating current potential drop (ACPD) technique. Using Paris' law, stress intensity factor, which is a fracture parameter to be frequently used by many designers to predict the integrity and residual life of tubular joints, can be obtained from experimental test results of the crack growth rate. Furthermore, a scheme of automatic mesh generation for a cracked K-joint is introduced, and numerical analysis of stress intensity factor for the K-joint specimen has then been carried out. In the finite element analysis, J-integral method is used to estimate the stress intensity factors along the crack front. The numerical stress intensity factor results have been validated through comparing them with the experimental results. The comparison shows that the proposed numerical model can produce reasonably accurate stress intensity factor values. The effects of different crack shapes on the stress intensity factors have also been investigated, and it has been found that semi-ellipse is suitable and accurate to be adopted in numerical analysis for the stress intensity factor. Therefore, the proposed model in this paper is reliable to be used for estimating the stress intensity factor values of cracked tubular K-joints for design purposes.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.3838-3846
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• 1996

A method is proposed to obtain the stress intensity factors of multiple cracks lying on many straight llnes in an infinite isotropic plate. In this mehtod, analytical solutions for collinear multiple cracks subject to surface point forces are obrained and used as Green functions. For the multiple cracks lying onmany straight lines, the equivalent crack surface tractions are obtained by using the alternating method and the stress intensity factors are calculated. By using the proposed method several useful problems are solved and discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.21 no.1 s.73
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• pp.15-20
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• 2006

The finite element alternating method is a convenient and efficient method to analyze three-dimensional cracks embedded in an infinite or a finite body because the method has the property that the uncracked body and cracks can be modeled independently. In this paper the method was applied for fatigue crack growth simulation. A surface crack in a cylinder was considered as an initial crack and the crack configurations and stress intensity factors during the crack growth were obtained. In this paper the finite element alternating method proposed by Nikishkov, Park and Atluri was used after modification. In the method, as the required solution for a crack in an infinite body, the symmetric Galerkin boundary element method formulated by Li and Mear was used. And a crack was modeled as distribution of displacement discontinuities, and the governing equation was formulated as singularity-reduced integral equations.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.969-980
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• 2003

The interactions between curved cracks are examined in an orthotropic plate and the effects of rectilinear anisotropy on the stress intensity factors are analyzed. The finite element alternating method (FEAM) is used in this study to get the stress intensity factors for the multiple curved cracks. To obtain analytical solutions, which is necessary in FEAM, the curved cracks are modeled as continuous distributions of dislocations, and integral equations are formulated for unknown dislocation density functions to satisfy the given resultant forces on the crack surfaces. Several basic problems are solved to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method and it can be found that present results show good agreements with the previously published results.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1392-1399
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• 1997

In order to determine the Mode I stress intensity factor ($K_1$) experimentally by means of the alternating current potential drop(ACPD) technique, the change in potential drop due to load for a ferromagnetic material containing a two-dimensional surface crack was examined. The cause of the change in potential drop and the effect of the magnetic flux on the change in potential drop were clarified by using the measuring systems with and without removing the magnetic flux from the circumference of the specimen. To remove the magnetic flux, a new measuring system was made by utilizing the characteristic of coaxial transmission line. The change in potential drop in the case without magnetic flux in the air was caused by the change in electromagnetic properties near the crack tip due to magnetization. The relationship between the change in potential drop and the change in $K_I$ was linealized by demagnetization and was found to be independent of the crack length.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.124-129
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• 2004

Finite element alternating method have been suggested and used for assessing the integrity of cracked structures. In the paper, in order to analyze arbitrarily shaped three dimensional cracks, the finite element alternating method is extended. The cracks are modeled as a distribution of displacement discontinuities by the displacement discontinuity method and the symmetric Galerkin boundary element method. Applied the proposed method to three dimensional crack included in the elbow, the efficiency and applicability of the method were demonstrated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.29-38
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• 2001

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the structural integrity of a reactor pressure vessel subjected to the pressurized thermal shock(PTS) during the transient events, such as main steam line break(MSLB) and small break loss of coolant accident(SBLOCA). For postulated surface or subsurface cracks, variation curves of stress intensity factor are obtained by using the three different methods, including ASME section XI code anlysis, the finite element alternating method and the finite element method. From the stress intensity factor curves, the maximum allowable nil-ductility transition temperatures(RT/NDT/) are determined by the tangent criterion and the maximum criterion for various crack configurations and two initial transient events. As a result of the analysis, it is noted that axial cracks have smaller maximum allowable RT$_{NDT}$ values than same-sized circumferential cracks for both the transient events in the case of the tangent criterion. Axial cracks have smaller RT$_{NDT}$ values than same-sized circumferential cracks for MSLB and circumferential cracks have smaller values than axial cracks for SBLOCA in the case of the maximum criterion.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2004

Many analysis methods, including finite element method, have been suggested and used for assessing the integrity of cracked structures. In the paper, in order to analyze arbitrary three dimensional cracks, the finite element alternating method is extended. The crack is modeled by the symmetric Galerkin boundary element method as a distribution of displacement discontinuities, which is formulated as singularity-reduced integral equations. And the finite element method is used to calculate the stress values for the uncracked body only. Applied the proposed method to several example problems for planner cracks in finite bodies, the accuracy and efficiency of the method were demonstrated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.1091-1097
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• 2011

The SGBEM-FEM alternating method has been known to be a very effective method for analyzing threedimensional cracks in a finite body. The accurate values of the stress intensity factor can be obtained for a general planar or nonplanar three-dimensional crack. In the existing method, eight-noded quadrilateral boundary elements are used to model a crack. In some cases, three-node triangle boundary elements are more convenient for the modeling of a crack with a general shape. In this study, a crack is modeled with three-noded triangular and seven-noded quadrilateral elements by using the advancing-front mesh generation method. The stress intensity factors are obtained for cracks with several shapes and the accuracy of results is examined.