In this paper a dual boundary element formulation is developed and applied to the evaluation
of stress intensity factors in, and propagation of, axisymmetric cracks. The displacement and
stress boundary integral equations are reviewed and the asymptotic behaviour of their singular
and hypersingular kernels is discussed. The modified crack closure integral method is employed to evaluate the stress intensity factors. The combination of the dual formulation with this method requires the adoption of an interpolating function for stresses after the crack tip. Different functions are tested under a conservative criterion for the evaluation of the stress intensity factors. A crack propagation procedure is implemented using the maximum principal stress direction rule. The robustness of the technique is assessed through several examples where results are compared either
to analytical ones or to BEM and FEM formulations
