A singular element for reissner plate bending problem with V-shaped notches

Abstract

A novel singular finite element is presented to study Reissner plate bending problem with V-shaped notches. Firstly, the expressions of the first four order asymptotic displacement field around the tip of V-shaped notch are derived systematically using William’s eigenfunction series expansion method. Subsequently, the expressions are used to construct a novel displacement mode singular finite element, which can well depict the characteristic of singular stress field around the tip of V-shaped notch having arbitrary opening angle. Combining with conventional finite elements, the novel element can be applied to solve Reissner plate bending problem with V-shaped notches, and mode I, mode II and mode III stress intensity factors can all be determined directly by the coefficients of the asymptotic expansion terms. Finally, four numerical examples are performed to demonstrate the performance of the present method, and the influences of the size and number of export nodes of the singular element on the calculation of bending stress intensity factors are also discussed. Numerical results show that the singular element method is a practical and effective numerical technique for obtaining directly and synchronously mode I, mode II and mode III stress intensity factors without other numerical techniques, such as extrapolation.