A Review of Stress Concentration Factor around Hole in a Plate.

Submitted by: Faizan Ahmad

2017(f)-MS-MED-04
Abstract:
Stress concentration factor defines how concentrated the stress is in a material around a
geometric discontinuity. This paper provides a review of stress concentration factor around a
countersunk hole in a composite plate. The stress concentration around countersunk hole is
determined under tensile loading by using universal testing machine and strain indicator. The
investigations are carried out by varying the tensile load and diameter of the hole. Moreover this
paper also provide a review of effect of position of hole, in a thin plate, on stress concentration
factor. The stress concentration factor is determined using mathematical equation and finite
element analysis.

Introduction:
The areas of discontinuities in plate like holes are the region of stress concentration. The value of
stress in these region is higher than other regions. This stress concentration is measured in term
of stress concentration factor. This factor is the ratio of the maximum elastic stress value to the
nominal stress calculated in the discontinuity area. Also the use of composites is increasing in
engineering industrial application, because of their high strength to weight ratio, high stiffness,
low density and long fatigue life. Countersunk hole when applied in composite plate generate
stress concentration and this is to be analyzed. Moreover stress concentration factor according to
position of hole in a plate is also analyzed.

Methodology:
For the effect of position of hole on SCF, the stress concentration factor is given by Eq. (1)

σmax
Kt = (1)
σnom
For the plates of relatively infinite dimensions, the hole is supposed to be centered on the plate.
𝜎𝑛𝑜𝑚 is calculated according to Eq. (2) where 𝜎𝑜 is the mean stress applied away from the hole
area.
 𝑊
𝜎𝑛𝑜𝑚 =𝜎𝑜 { 2 } (2)
𝑊 −2𝑟 2
Where 𝑊2 is plate width
𝑟 𝑟 2 𝑟 3
𝐾𝑡 = 3 – 3.13( ) + 3.66( ) - 1.53( ) (3)
𝑐 𝑐 𝑐
Where
Kt is stress concentration factor.

The finite element analysis allowed the production of stress distributions in all plate directions.
Using the analytical definition for the SCF, presented by Eq. (1), the effects of the hole position
and the plate thickness are analyzed. The plate is modeled by a 3D brick with six nodes. The
geometric parameters, in Fig. 1, are b and c which determine the hole position on the plate.

Fig. 1: Plate with hole

The software used to carry out the finite elements simulation is ANSYS. Elastic mechanical
characteristics for model are E=210 GPa,  = 0.3.

For determining SFC around counter sunk hole, Carbon epoxy plate was selected to conduct
experiments. Plate size of specimen was selected as per the ISO 527 or NF T57-301 standard.
Countersunk hole as shown in Fig. 2 was drilled on rectangular plate.

Different dimensions of the specimen are shown in Table 1.

 Fig.2: work specimen
Table 1 Dimension of Specimens
Specimen no. l w t d Cs Өc

Specimen 1 230 25 15 4 5 45

Specimen 2 230 25 15 5 5 45

Specimen 3 230 25 15 6 5 45

Where

l = Length of the plate (mm)

w = width of plate (mm)

t = thickness of plate (mm)

d = Straight shank hole diameters (mm)

Cs = Countersunk depth (mm)

Өc = Angle of countersunk hole

The stress concentration in specimens is determined by using computerized universal testing

machine. The tensile capacity of this universal testing machine is 1200 KN. It consists of two
control valves, to maintain desired pressure in the specimen. Jaw length of universal testing
machine is 40 mm. Inputs and outputs are recorded on computer. Foil type strain gauge is used to
measure the strain around the hole. This setup also consist strain gauge indicator to record strain
in the component.

Analytical approach for counter sunk hole:

Formula for stress concentration factor around countersunk hole is given as follow
Max. Stress
Modulus of elasticity = Max. Strain (4)

The nominal stress in plate is given by

𝑃
𝜎𝑛𝑜𝑚 = (𝑤−𝑑)×𝑡 (5)

Where,

P = Tensile load (N).

w = Width of the plate (mm).

d = Diameter of the hole (mm).

t = Thickness of the plate (mm)

Stress concentration factor Kt is,

𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐾𝑡 = (6)
𝜎𝑛𝑜𝑚

Results and Discussion:

Fig. 3 presents the distribution of the normal stress in the applied external load direction. It is
clear that the normal stress is not uniform in the surrounding of the hole. Equation (3) introduce
the parameter c, which expresses the hole position relative to the z-axis.

When the hole is centered on the plate (b=c=50 mm), the finite element model gives for the SCF
2.839 and Eq. (3) gives 2.722. For every value of the parameter b, the SCF increases when the
hole approaches the edge of the plate. The effect of the parameter b is not expressed in the SCF
calculation equations.

The magnitudes of Kt, around countersunk hole, for specimen 1, 2 and 3 with loads 5000N,
7500N, and 10000N are shown in Table 2. The graph consists of variation in Kt factor according
to diameter of the specimen is shown in figure 4.
 Fig. 3: Normal stress distribution along x- axis.

Table 2: Kt for different loads

Kt for tensile loads
Specimen No. 5000N 7500N 10000N
Specimen 1 1.032 1.033 1.032

Specimen 2 1.034 1.034 1.034

Specimen 3 1.055 1.055 1.055

Fig. 4: Kt v/s r/t for different tensile load.

Conclusion:
The position of hole in a plate effect SCF. The effect of the parameter b is not expressed in the
SCF calculation equations. It is found that the SCF values increase if the hole is close to the plate
edges. This makes it possible to evaluate the minimal threshold of the distance between the hole
center and the ends of the plate. It is clear that this threshold should not be smaller than the hole
radius.

For the experimental work carried out to investigate the stress concentration factor in composite
(Carbon epoxy) plates, around countersunk hole, under UDL, It is concluded that the stress
concentration increases as the r/t ratio increase.

Future recommendation:
More detailed simulations are necessary to establish new charts which take into account all the
geometrical parameters. Further studies are needed to present the results of simulations for SCF
supported by appropriates analytical models. Also other composite materials need to be
examined for stress concentration factor.