The analysis of cracking in steel bridges can be accomplished through using alinear-elastic fracture mechanics. With this method, the stresses very close to thecrack front, which cause crack extension, are treated as proportional to the stress
linear-elastic fracture mechanics. With this method, the stresses very close to the
crack front, which cause crack extension, are treated as proportional to the stress
intensity factor, K. The size, shape and orientation of the crack play a major role in
determining the applicable K value
