Multiple Connectivity and the J Integral of Fracture Mechanics.

The path independence of Rices J integral has been clearly shown for an integration path lying in a simply connected region, in addition to the presumption of elasticity or deformation plasticity. Because welded metals may contain voids, such as cluster porosity and small cracks in the vicinity of a major crack tip in the weld zone, the question of path independence of the J integral in a multiply connected region is of considerable interest. The report shows that the J integral incurs a finite increment, at each increase in connectivity. with respect to the integral value at the next lower connectivity.