The problem of a crack within, outside, penetrating or alongside the interface of an anisotropic elliptical inclusion was considered. By representing the crack as a distribution of dislocations, integrating the analytical solutions for dislocations along the crack, and by applying numerical techniques to the resultant singular integrals, it was possible to obtain general solutions for interactions between cracks and anisotropic elliptical inclusions. Since no analytical solutions existed for the general case of interaction between cracks and inclusions, a comparison was made with numerical results that had been obtained by using other methods or with analytical results for special cases that corresponded to the present situations. This showed that the present solutions were correct and universal.

Interactions between Inclusions and Various Types of Cracks. C.Hwu, Y.K.Liang, W.J.Yen: International Journal of Fracture, 1994, 73[4], 301-23