A rectangular plane element containing an internal open stable crack is formulated. Using the well-known local flexibility approach, the element flexibility matrix is derived by the addition of the supplementary flexibility caused by cracking to the intact element flexibility. For utilization of the force formulation method, the calculation of the strain energy release rate is a necessary parameter for computing the additional flexibility matrix due to crack. The developed cracked element can be used for static and vibration analysis of structures and also vibration-based crack detection. Some numerical examples evaluate the accuracy of the suggested formulation.

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