The present procedures of Appendix 4 of R6 for the assessment of defective structures subject to combined primary and secondary loading are described. These procedures provide alternative methods, dependent on the level of secondary loading. A more general procedure, for all levels of primary and secondary loadings is developed in this paper, based on the reference stress approach of the existing procedure. This new method allows plasticity effects to be incorporated for all levels of secondary loading, and removes undue conservatism at low levels of primary loading. Methods for the estimation of inelastic stress intensity factors are also discussed. Based on these studies, proposals are outlined for a revision of Appendix 4 of R6.
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