An analytical solution to the stress fields of kinked cracks

Propagating cracks may deflect due to dynamic instability, running into pre-existing weak regions of heterogeneous media, or encountering variation in driving forces. The mechanical analysis a kinked crack is engineering significance for safety control and crack-network formation. Existing theories relied on the perturbation method, as befit small kinks. stress intensity factors (SIFs) are valid close proximity primary tip. As field crack, it remains unsolved so far. In this work we develop an analytical solution fields cracks. By employing conformal mapping Muskhelishvili approach, close-form works arbitrarily sized theory then validated using finite-element simulations. With prior knowledge, analyze dependence deflection loading conditions, critical energy release rate, geometry crack. We further demonstrate that such approach paves way obtain multiple-kinked