Among techniques for the determination of the mode I stress intensity factors (SIFs),
strain gage procedures are the simplest and most straightforward. We report
here on an experimental investigation of the determination of opening mode
stress intensity factors using the single strain gage method. Our approach
overcomes certain drawbacks and greatly widens the applicability of strain gage
methods in the determination of static SIFs of complex configurations. The
approach was tested through experiments on specimens of finite width and
finite height edge-cracked plates (fully finite plates) subjected to tensile
stress. We compared the experimentally determined mode I stress intensity
factors of fully finite plates with the computed values using finite element
analysis, obtaining good agreement between the present approach and computed
values.