Stress Concentration

 The increase in localized stress due to an abrupt change in

cross section (called a discontinuity or a stress raiser)
 A stress concentration factor is used to compensate for that
 Stress in the fibres nearest to the discontinuity is increased
most
 Stress concentration due to discontinuity occurs for any kind
of loading viz. a direct load, bending or torsion
 The maximum stress at the discontinuity are
 s1 = (P/A) Kt , for direct load
 s1 = (Mc/I) Kt , for bending
 s1 = (Tc/J) Kt , for torsion
 A, J and I are based on the net section
 Kt is the theoretical Stress Concentration Factor
 Stress Concentration (Contd…)
 Kt depends only on the geometrical form of the
discontinuity
 Sometimes referred to as the form-stress factor

 Due to local yielding of ductile materials at the point of

excessive stress, the effective stress concentration
factor, K used in design, is always lower than the
corresponding theoretical stress factor Kt

 In design, Kt is used with extremely brittle materials

 Visualisation of Stress Concentration
Tension
 Stress concentration in tension members may be represented by lines
indicating the direction of the principal stresses
 Each flow line represents a certain amount of force
 In the figure, at both ends of the plate, the lines are parallel, indicating
uniform stresses; at the right end, they are closer together, indicating
higher stresses
 These lines are more crowded near the discontinuity, indicating a local
stress increase

 These lines are usually called force flow lines

 Reduction of stress concentration in tension
 Force flow lines are quite useful in visualizing stress concentration
created by discontinuities, and in taking remedial steps to reduce
stress concentration
 The force flow lines indicate that the stress concentration induced by
the elliptical hole is lower in figure (b) than in (a)

(a) (b)
Reduction of stress concentration in tension
 Estimation of stress concentration factors
 Free round holes
Stress distribution in a plate of infinite width containing a round hole

For an elliptical hole in an infinitely

wide plate, the max. stress is

Smax= S1 = S0(1 + 2a/b) ,

where a & b are semi-major and

semi-minor axes of the ellipse
(Curve-a in figure)

Transverse stress, S2 = NS0

(Curve-b in figure) (Compressive stress)
Form-stress factor due to hole
in a narrow plate
Form stress factor due to a through hole
in a shaft loaded in tension
Stress concentration due to notches and grooves

t
Kt = 1 + 2
r
 Limitation to the use of Kt

 When a part is known to contain cracks, the geometry of these

may not be known

 In any case, as the notch radius tends to zero, as it does in a

crack, the stress concentration value tends to infinity

 Then the stress concentration is no longer a helpful design tool

 In these cases, 'Fracture Mechanics' techniques are used

 Stress Intensity Factor becomes prominent
 Notched flat
bar in Tension
Form stress factor
for bending case
of a shaft with a
transverse hole
Stress concentration
factor for filleted
flat bar in tension
 Notched flat
bar in bending
Bending case of
a bar with
shoulder fillet
Stress concentration
factor for stepped
shaft in bending
Gear tooth- Stresses at the root are
greatly influenced by fillet radius
Rotating Beam Fatigue Tests
Un-notched and Notched Fatigue Specimens

Comparison of Fatigue test results for notched and un-notched

specimens revealed that a reduced Kt was warranted for
calculating the fatigue life for many materials
Fatigue Stress Concentration Factors
Notch Sensitivity Factor
Notch Sensitivity Factors
(Bending Example)
Notch Sensitivity Factors
(Torsion Example)
 Notch Sensitivity of Cast Iron

 Most cast irons have a very low q value

 This is because their microstructures contain many notches,

so additional machined ones make little difference

 A value of q = 0.2 will be on the safe side for all grades of

cast iron
Fatigue Stress Concentration Factors
 Problem
 A tension member shown in the figure supports an axial
load P = 2 kN. Determine the minimum fillet radius, r, at
section A so that the maximum stress at section A doesn't
exceed that at section B.
2 kN

50 mm

r=?

A 15 mm dia

B
60 mm