On the post-processing of data obtained from cracked components

The use of a simple singular value decomposition (SVD) technique to post-process far-field data from cracked components is discussed. The technique employs the series expansion for stress or displacements ahead of the crack tip, which is available for a wide range of configurations. The use of higher-order terms, necessary for the post-processing, is beneficial for two reasons: (a) it permits the abstraction of the maximum usable amount of information; (b) it gives a better understanding of the fracture mechanics, especially regarding crack tip plasticity and dynamic propagation. Several numerical cases are examined and a comparison is made with analytical results, permitting an evaluation to be made of the pure numerical error in the post-processing.