Interaction between cracks and effect of microcrack zone on main crack tip

Mechanism interaction between cracks with different orientation angles is analyzed based on the principle of superposition and a flattening method. It is found that the maximum interaction effect does not occur when the microcrack is along the direction parallel or perpendicular to the principal tensile stress, which is different from the conclusion drawn by Ortiz （1987）. The mechanism of microcrack generation and the effect of the microcrack zone on the main crack tip are studied. It is concluded that the microcrack zone has effect on the main crack tip, which increases with the increase of microcrack density and length.