Stress concentration and deflection in isotropic and orthotropic plates with opening. Finite element study

Abstract

In this paper, stress concentration factors (SCFs), in-plane displacements and transverse deflection in orthotropic as well as in isotropic plates with central circular cutouts were studied. This study was made by using a quadrilateral finite element with thirty-two degrees of freedom. The element is a combination of a linear isoparametric membrane element and a high precision rectangular Hermitian element. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the accuracy of the present element for analyzing the effect of (d/b) ratio (where (d) is hole diameter and (b) is plate width) upon (SCFs), in-plane displacements and transverse deflection in isotropic and orthotropic plates under different in-plane and transverse static loading conditions. Also, in order to understand the effect of the support conditions on the transverse deflection, different plates with various (d/b) ratios are studied. The variations of in-plane displacements, stress concentration factor and transverse deflection with respect to (d/b) ratio are presented in graphical form and discussed. The numerical results obtained by the present element are compared favorably with the analytic solutions, which demonstrate the accuracy of the present element.