Experimental Study on Local Plastic Collapse in a Plate Weakened by Two Collinear Cracks

Abstract

Fracture and fatigue assessment of structures weakened by multiple site damage (MSD) currently represents a challenging problem. Here, we communicate the outcomes of an experimental study conducted on a plate weakened by two closely-spaced collinear cracks, which represents the simplest form of MSD. The experimental results are used to verify the predictions of a recently developed theoretical approach.