Abstract: The Saint-Venant torsion problems of a composite cylinder with curvilinear cracks were investigated. By considering the bimaterial interface as a boundary of the outer bar or inner one, the problem was reduced to the solution of boundary integral equations on the crack, external boundary and interface. Using the new boundary element method, some typical torsion problems of a composite cylinder involving a straight or kinked crack were calculated. The obtained results were compared with data in the literature to show validity and applicability of the present method.

Key words: Saint-Venant torsion, composite cylinder, curvilinear cracks, boundary integral equation, stress intensity