•The general energy product converges with the reduction in linear size at shear.•The fracture criterion includes the stress tensor hydrostatic component and the external boundary.•The influence of shear on the CRLD specimen is part of the general variational problem statement.•The linear size determining GEP convergence was taken for the characteristic size of the pre-fracture zone. This article considers the influence of shear on a specimen with a crack-like defect (CRLD) as part of the general variational statement of the problem with a distinguished interactive layer. The delta-element fracture criterion is formulated as a generalized energy product (GEP), accounting for the influence of hydrostatic stress and the existence of an external boundary. The GEP convergence with a reduction of the layer thickness in the layers element is shown both in the simplified analytical solution and in the numerical solution by the finite elements method (FEM). The linear size determining the GEP convergence in the layers element is taken for the characteristic size of the finite element conjugate to the physical excision and its continuation. It is shown that, unlike the simplified analytical solution, the solution by FEM allows finding the maximum GEP outside the layer.