Closed-form weight function for edge crack problems

An accurate crack surface opening displacement formula for edge cracks in finite bodies has been derived, and was subsequently used to develop wide-range closed-form weight functions for edge cracks. The analytical weight function is general and can be easily used to determine accurate stress intensity factors and crack surface opening displacements for arbitrarily loaded edge cracks with high efficiency. Examples have been given for problems of edge crack(s) with a number of typical load conditions for illustration.