Generalized stress intensity factors for strength analysis of Bi-material interfaces

A boundary element method is developed for the determination of generalized stress intensity factors associated with bi-material interfaces. The new formulation, which is based on the theory of boundary eigensolutions, employs displacements and weighted tractions as primary variables. As a result, the solution is obtained exclusively in terms of bounded quantities enabling the attainment of mesh-independent results while requiring only surface discretization. Several numerical examples are considered to assess the performance of the method, including a detailed strength analysis of epoxy-steel cylindrical butt joints.