Chapter 1, Problem 37P

The stress intensity factor K predicts the stress state (stress intensity) near a crack tip. For a plate with a crack and loading shown in the figure, K is given by:

$K=\sigma \sqrt{\pi a}\left[\frac{1-\frac{a}{2b}+0.326{\left(\frac{a}{b}\right)}^2}{\sqrt{1-\frac{a}{b}}}\right]$

Determine K for the case where a = 12000psi, h = 5in., and b= 4 in., and a= 1.5 in.