COMPLEX STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS FOR A CRACK IN A BIMATERIAL BRAZILIAN TEST SPECIMEN

— The stress field in front of a crack tip lying in a plane bimaterial interface is always of a complex nature. The stress intensity factor characterising its asymptotic variation is therefore a complex number and its assessment from a numerical calculation requires the separation of the particular loading modes by an appropriate method. A suitable method is provided by the combination of curve integrals and an auxiliary singular field, enabling this separation by means of simple post-processing. This method can also be applied to the separation of load modes in front of the crack tip in a homogeneous specimen exposed to a mixed-mode load.