T-stress of cracks loaded by near-tip tractions

T -stress solutions were derived for tractions acting on the crack-faces near a crack tip. Such solutions are of interest for the determination of the leading term of a weight function representation of T -stresses and the computation of an “intrinsic” T -stress for cracks growing in a material with a rising crack growth resistance. First, the type of the Green’s function for T -stresses is theoretically established. Then, results of finite element computations are reported for edge-cracked bars, DCB and CT specimens, which are suited for the determination of the first series term. As an application of the Green’s functions, the T -stresses caused by bridging interactions very close to the crack tip are computed.