A benchmark elastic–plastic finite element analysis of plate with a surface crack under tensile load for the development of the reference stress method

Benchmark calculations were performed for steel plate subjected to tensile loading. Semi-circular and semi-elliptical cracks with various depths and aspect ratios were assumed. Elastic–plastic fracture analyses were carried out using finite element (FE) method. Two kinds of hardening laws were adopted and elastic–plastic fracture parameter, J-integral, was computed. The J-integral values from the FE analyses were compared with those of the reference stress method which is a simplified method to compute the elastic–plastic J-integral value. The outcomes of the benchmark analyses will contribute to the accuracy improvement of the J-integral computation by the reference stress method.