Thermal singular stresses near a circumferential edge crack in a spherical cavity under uniform axial heat flow

The linear thermoelastic problem of a spherical cavity with a circumferential edge crack is solved. The thermal stresses are caused by a uniform heat flow disturbed by the presence of the crack and the cavity. The surfaces of the crack and the cavity are assumed to be insulated. Integral transform techniques are used to reduce the problem concerning the temperature and thermoelastic fields to that of solving two singular integral equations of the first kind. The integral equations are solved numerically and the variation of the thermal stress intensity factor with the crack depth and the crack opening displacement are shown graphically.