Design study of hole positions and hole shapes for crack tip stress releasing

Abstract

The method of hole drilling near or at the crack tip is often used in fatigue damage repair. From a design optimization point of view, two questions are posed: Where should the hole(s) be drilled? And is there a better shape of the hole than a circular one? For the first question, we extend earlier results for isotropic material and in general study the influence of having orthotropic material.