For each simulated loading the KI and KII SIFs were calculated
using the well-known J-integral method .
Since the SIFs in this problem depend linearly on the applied
external load F1 and hence on the nominal shear
stress sm, normalised values (i.e. KI–II/sm) expressed in ffiffiffiffi
mp were computed. This technique facilitates the generalization
of the results to any magnitude of the nominal
shear stress (sm). Such normalised data are plotted for KI
and KII for two extreme cases of crack inclination, namely
the 0 and the 40 in Fig. 4.