Circumferentially notched pipe with an external surface crack under complex loading

The influence of a circular-arc circumferential notch in a pipe is analyzed. Firstly, the stress concentration factor (SCF) is determined. Then, an elliptical-arc external surface crack is assumed to exist at the notch root, and the stress-intensity factor (SIF) along the surface crack front is computed for four values of the dimensionless notch radius and for several opening stress distributions on the crack faces. The effect of stress concentration on the SIF values is discussed for both thick- and thin-walled pipes. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.