Fracture and buckling of thin panels with edge crack in tension

This study is concerned with the buckling and/or cracking of thin aluminium panels with an edge crack in tension. Two types of end conditions are considered. In the first case, the ends of the panel are clamped such that they would extend in parallel. In the second case. the ends are permitted to rotate when extended in tension. The cracked edge would open while the smooth edge is compressed that could lead to out-of-plane deflection if the panels are sufficiently thin. An empirical relation is obtained for the critical tensile stress. Relations among the geometrical parameters for which buckling occurs are also derived. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.