Calculation of stress intensity factors for Griffith cracks in an orthotropic elastic plate using the principle of superposition

This paper provides the proof that the stress intensity factors in modes I and II for a Griffith crack in an orthotropic elastic plate can be calculated using the superposition principle. It is also shown how the symmetry and skew-symmetry principle can be applied to stress intensity factors. Finally, using these two principles the stress intensity factor solutions are obtained and tabulated for more than thirty loading situations. Some of these results are new and have not been previously reported in any stress intensity factor handbooks.