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Stress Concentration

STRESS CONCENTRATION

When a structural member contains a discontinuity, such as a hole or a sudden change in cross
section, high localized stresses can also occur near the discontinuity. The figures below show the
distribution of stresses in critical sections corresponding to two such situations. Figure 1 refers to a flat
bar with a circular hole and shows the stress distribution in a section passing through the center of the
hole. Figure 2 refers to a flat bar consisting of two portions of different widths connected by fillets; it
shows the stress distribution in the narrowest part of the connection, where the highest stresses occur.
These results were obtained experimentally through the use of a photo elastic method. Fortunately
for the engineer who has to design a given member and cannot afford to carry out such an analysis, the
results obtained are independent of the size of the member and of the material used; they depend only
upon the ratios of the geometric parameters involved, i.e., upon the ratio r/d in the case of a circular
hole, and upon the ratios r/d and D/d in the case of fillets. Furthermore, the designer is more interested
in the maximum value of the stress in a given section, than in the actual distribution of stresses in that
section, since the main concern is to determine whether the allowable stress will be exceeded under a
given loading, and not where this value will be exceeded. For this reason, one defines the ratio of the
maximum stress over the average stress computed in the critical (narrowest) section of the
discontinuity. This ratio is referred to as the stress-concentration factor of the given discontinuity.
Stress concentration factor (K) can be computed once and for all in terms of the ratios of the
geometric parameters involved, and the results obtained can be expressed in the form of tables or of
graphs, as shown below:

Figure 1. Stress distribution near circular Figure 2. Stress distribution

near fillets
hole in flat bar under axial loading. in flat bar under axial loading

The maximum stresses for axial, torsional, and flexural loads on bars and beams in relation to
stress concentration factor are given by the following:

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where: P is the axial load applied M is the bending or flexural moment

A is the cross-sectional area c is the centroid to the neutral
axis
T is the torque applied I is the inertia of various cross-
sectional areas
r is the radius of the shaft k is the stress concentration
factor
J is the polar moment of inertia

A similar stress concentration is caused by the small elliptical

hole as shown. The maximum stress at the ends of the horizontal
axis of the hole is given by:

As an example of stress concentration, consider the plate with a small circular hole. Although
the plate is subjected to the uniform tensile stress, the stress distribution across the section through the
center of the hole is non uniform. From the theory of elasticity, this stress distribution is known to be:

Figure 4. Normal stress distribution in a uniformly

stretched plate with a small round hole.

I. Plots on Stress Concentration Factors for Flat Bars under Axial Loading

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A.;

II. Plots
of Stress

Concentration Factors for Rectangular and Circular Bars.

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Table 1. Stress Concentration Factors for Rectangular and Circular Bars.

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Problems:

Example 1. Determine the largest axial load P that can be safely supported by a flat steel bar
consisting of two portions, both 10 mm thick and, respectively, 40 and 60 mm wide, connected by fillets
of radius r = 8 mm. Assume an allowable normal stress of 165 MPa.

Answer: 36.3 kN

Problem 2. The rectangular bar of cross-sectional dimensions D = 250 mm and b = 20 mm contains a

central hole of radius r = 50 mm. The bar carries a longitudinal tensile load P of eccentricity e = 50 mm
as shown in the figure. Determine the largest value of P for which the maximum normal stress at the
edge of the hole does not exceed 150 MPa.

Answer: 157.8 kN

Problem 3. The 2-mm-thick bar shown is loaded axially with a constant force of 10 KN. The bar
material has been heat treated and quenched to raise its strength, but as a consequence it has lost
most of its ductility. It is desired to drill a hole through the center of the 40-mm face of the plate to allow
a cable to pass through it. A 4-mm hole is sufficient for the cable to fit, but an 8-mm drill is readily
available. Will a crack be more likely to initiate at the larger hole, the smaller hole, or at the fillet?

Answer: The crack will most likely occur with the 8-mm hole (390 MPa), next likely would be
the 4 mm hole (380 MPa), and least likely at the fillet (368 MPa).

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