Boundary contour method fracture analysis of bimaterial interface cracks

A variant of the boundary element method, called the boundary contour method (BCM), offers a further reduction in dimensionality. Consequently, boundary contour analysis of two-dimensional (2-D) problems does not require any numerical integration at all. The method is thus very computationally effective and accurate as shown in previous related studies. This paper presents a further development of the BCM for multi-region problems in 2-D elasticity, and an application of this development, coupled with the displacement correlation technique, to evaluating the stress intensity factors K1 and K2 for bimaterial interface cracks. Some preliminary tests conducted within this work suggest that the proposed technique is robust and able to provide highly accurate results of both K1 and K2 for this challenging class of fracture problems. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.